Operation: Fortitude
by Milou
Summary: X5-875, or Lily, was one of the kids left behind in the escape of '09. The story of an X-5 who grew up in "Psy-Ops". Starts at the end of Season 1. Will eventually feature most characters from the show. Will slowly turn into a romance as well.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: **I obviously do not own Dark Angel, or it never would have been cancelled so abruptly. I do not own the characters, the original script or story. I own Lily, my original character, her designation and others that were never mentioned in the show. I take full responsibility for any crazy thing she might or might not do. This is her story, not mine.

**The Who-What-Where-When:** Lily is my own character. She is Manticore, most specifically a Psy-Ops X5. Her designation is X5-875. If there is a rule book anywhere that says X-5s can't be Psy-Ops, well I'm sorry I didn't see it. Military asset doesn't only mean soldier. This fic will mainly take place in Manticore and Seattle, staying true to the show. There will be a lot of early memories and flashbacks, but the story really starts at the end of Season 1 and then will follow the events of season 2. I might change the order of some episodes, just to make my plot work, but nothing dramatic.

**Reviews: **Yes please. I have not posted anything in here for years and I do feel a bit rusty, so any criticism and comments are appreciated. And as always, reviews make chapters magically get posted faster ;) (Except when "Life" gets in the way…)

**Thanks: **A special thanks to my new friend Shane C. Please go read his fantastic DA story called: Shadow Game. It has kicked me in the butt to finally give in and start writing again.

On with the story now, I hope you enjoy.

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><p><strong>Operation<strong> **Fortitude**

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><p><em>Gillette, Wyoming, 2009 – Manticore<em>

_Lily suddenly sat up in her bed, shaking. She dragged her knees under her chin and rocked herself to calm down. She looked at her hand, watching it slowly stop shaking. She closed her eyes and whimpered softly._

"_Lily? What's happening? There's only a 32% chance that you were having a seizure, but you know a guard will be by in 2.1 minutes." whispered a chubby little boy standing by her bed. She put a finger to her lips, signalling him to be quiet. They waited until the officer walked by the door. She pushed her sheet away and jumped out of bed._

"_What are you doing 875? We're not allowed out of our beds. I don't want to get punished. There is a 74% chance we will be caught. " He would always switch back to her designation when he was nervous._

_Lily opened the door, ignoring all the eyes that were locked on her. "Something's wrong Brain, they've got a gun, I think they're leaving." She gave him a pleading look._

_He looked at her with those big eyes of his, then took her hand and followed her out. Before they reached the corner of the corridor, they heard the gunshot. Too late, she was too late, she hadn't been alert enough. She felt a tear running down her cheek. Eva was dead and the rest of them were caught. So scared, everyone was either scared, or angry, or both. She tugged on Brain's hand, trying to make him go faster; he didn't understand they were running out of time. There was some yelling and running, and then some glass being broken, and then more yelling and running. The alarm lights and sirens went off. The children held on to each other, running towards the noise, counting on their ability to be forgettable to keep them out of trouble. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't._

_They stopped in front of a broken window, where X5-798, Jace was standing, looking at her brothers and sisters scattering in the forest, escaping. Brain sighed, then turned from the window and walked back the way they came. He knew they would be coming to get him next; he would have to help find them. Lily stayed behind, tears freely running down her cheeks now, holding Jace's hand tightly. "It's ok to be scared Jace" She whispered to the other girl, "I'm scared too." Too late, she had been too late, and now she was stuck here. And things were only going to get worse…._

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><p><em>Manticore, 2015<em>

_It's been 6 years since **they** escaped, leaving the rest of them behind. 21 had tried to escape that night, only 12 really made it outside the perimeter. Brain and the rest of the unit helped search and bring them back, they didn't have a choice, and it was their job to obey. _

_After the escape, there was no more sense of family in the units, everyone was a soldier. Everyone was back to their designation, no more whispered names. Except for some in psy-ops. Lily and Brain and Mia still considered themselves like family, would sometimes bend the rules a little, but never too much, they knew what happened to the others after the escape of '09. A lot of people got hurt or killed that night, and during its aftermath. But they didn't have the same military training as the other X-5s did, just the basics. They weren't really soldiers, so they considered themselves lucky. They were treated a bit differently, better, some would say. Others would say it was worse for them, as they got to see and understand the real world, outside Manticore, while knowing they would never truly be a part of it. Lily hated that part most of all, probably because she was one of the few who would spend a lot of time outside the fences, but always had to comeback. But the real ugly part was seeing and understanding how cruel and unfair this place was, how many people got hurt and robbed of their lives here._

_Until they successfully reprogrammed 798 to hate the kids who escaped, Lily could also call Jace a sister. She was drawn to her fear and anger and sadness like a moth to a flame. They were able to steal moments together, and keep their humanity. But then she changed, she didn't feel anything anymore, she was a good little soldier and her designation was X5-798, no more Jace. Manticore changed everyone back and took control once again. Whatever magic was once there in this prison, it all went out the window when **they** jumped, leaving the rest of them to pick up the pieces. But Lily knew that one day soon, she would get out of here for good, and she would free the rest of her family too. One day, they'd all be free._

_But in the meantime, she played her part and did as she was told. She took all the training and classes they threw at her. She thought it was funny that in their quest to continually improve her "talents", they were unknowingly grooming her for a life outside Manticore. They didn't realize that by making her so useful and in the heart of everything, they also turned her into a dangerous weapon, that could very much be used against them. All she had to do was bid her time….._

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><p><strong>AN: I have the next couple chapters ready, I will have the next installement by tomorrow night. (My laptop is being very difficult tonight.) Please review!**


	2. In and Out

**Disclaimer: **I obviously do not own Dark Angel, or it never would have been cancelled so abruptly. I do not own the characters, the original script or story. I own Lily, my original character, her designation and others that were never mentioned in the show. I take full responsibility for any crazy thing she might or might not do. This is her story, not mine.

**A/N: **Sorry for posting just a teaser last night. I meant to post this chapter as well, to get the story situated at least, but apparently my laptop decided to overheat and then my regular computer wouldn't read my files. I guess writing this on 3 different computers at the time was not the best idea. Oh well. Please review if you are reading, thanks!

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><p><strong>Operation:<strong> **Fortitude**

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><p>Manticore, 2020.<p>

It has been weeks ago when the nightmares woke her up. Something was happening. Something big was going down. She had been on alert for a while now, ever since Lydecker had started going rogue and acted behind the director's back. Jace was gone and Brin had been captured and brought back. Lily had seen and heard things before they got Brin cured and then brainwashed. She was ready to spring into action. It was finally time. And then Lydecker disappeared. Word was that he was cooperating with Eyes Only and the '09 escapees to bring down Manticore. Not that Lily could blame him for finally waking up.

The explosion of the lab had been a disappointment. To have _**them**_ infiltrate the facility but not letting any of them out was a cruel joke. The destruction of the lab, Lily could understand, it was necessary, but to write the rest of them trapped in here off? That was wrong. Once again, it was as if only _**their**_ little unit mattered, that no one else was worth saving.

Horrible things had happened that night. Lily was still very shaken up with everything. Lydecker helped _**them**_ and even before that, Renfro had given the authorization to terminate him. Lily was in the office when she made that call and also blamed him for Tinga's death. Zack had been captured after the explosion and shot himself in the head to give his heart to Max. Max had almost died as well; she was shot in the chest by her own clone. Zack saved her life. She was going to be OK. Lily would make sure of it. This time, they were **all** getting out…

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><p>Lily quietly snuck into the private room and stood over the bed. It was her last chance before tomorrow, before Max was released from the medical facility. She had been here many times in the last few weeks, always at night, but Max had never been in a state to be able to talk to her. She had been heavily drugged or in too much pain, physical and mental, to take in her surroundings. Besides, there was no guarantee she would even recognize Lily, and even if she did, she doubted that she would be willing to trust her. Not after all this time away. Still, Lily kept visiting; she had to at least try. Sometimes she would just share Max's dreams, sometimes she would hold her hand and tell her that everything would work out, that she was not alone, but most of the time she just stood there, listening. She had done it with Zack and Brin, she even spent a few hours at the morgue with Ben. Not that any of them knew, or even cared. But Lily cared, she would always care. To her they were all a family; <em><strong>they <strong>_were the ones not getting it.

Lily knew that Max had a lot of very valuable information that Manticore wanted. She had been able to scrape the surface herself. It would probably be asked of her to help extract that information at one point or another. When Max was cleared from the hospital, they would start her re-programming right away. She wished there was a way to let Max know that even though she would seem like an enemy, she wasn't. She was just playing her part, biding her time until it was finally time to escape from here, for good. With Max here and the lab destroyed, things had been set in motion, it was almost Time. And she was ready too.

Lydecker had tipped her off weeks ago, when he himself grew very paranoid of director Renfro and started treating Lily like his personal assistant, making her sit at every meeting and listening in. That gave her a lot of privileges and access to countless resources. Even though the rest of the X5s hated Lydecker, Lily trusted him. She trusted him to always look out for himself first, and since she was valuable to him, she could trust that he would look out for her when the time came. And you could trust the fact that he did care about his "kids", in his own twisted way, but he did want them back "home", not killed. Of course "his" kids was _**them **_outside, not them still inside. Somehow, it was those that escaped that Lydecker cared about, the rest of them abrely mattered to him.

After they discovered that 734 (She always remembered to use designations when talking to officials, names were just for her.) Was now answering directly to Renfro, Lydecker had put a plan in motion. He knew he was soon going to have to disappear and his plan included taking Lily with him. She knew too much to be left behind, and that made her useful. And Lydecker would always know if someone was lying to him as long as she was there. An assistant psy-ops was a very valuable asset to have. In a safe location in Seattle, he had a fake identity made for her, with papers and money, even a place to live. As soon as she could leave this place, Lily would go into hiding. There was no paper trail of it, and nothing was ever spoken out loud. Nobody knew.

Lily brushed her long curls out of her face and wiped her tears. Even asleep, Max was in such pain, it physically hurt her. Lily needed to catch a few hours of sleep; she needed to be very alert if she wanted to be ready when it'd be time to move. With a last squeeze to Max's hand, she left the room and stealth back to her own bunk, undetected.

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><p>After Max was released from the hospital and cleared for training and re-programming, it took a few weeks, and a lot of listening in, and even some help from Mia for Lily to finally figure out what was going on. Max was only thinking about ways to escape and Renfro was willing enough to let her go, knowing they would get her to kill Eyes Only, one way or another.<p>

Lily knew that whatever was happening, it was today. She hated herself for not having been able to get close enough to Max to warn her. Her escape plan was a trap. She also hated the fact that Max had ran away all by herself, once again not giving a second thought about anyone else. She did her best to keep her focus on, and stayed at her desk, typing reports. How incredibly ironic that they now had her playing the "assistant" part so completely that she had her own desk outside of Renfro's office and she was to filter phone calls and type reports. But it was the ideal position to know what was going on. Most of them would not really register her presence; it was as if she was part of the office supplies or something. It made them forget what she was and what she could do. She had piled her long red wavy hair on top of her head, was wearing decorative glasses frames and the black pant suit and heels Renfro insisted she wore.

There was a lot of agitation today. Renfro has been in and out of the office, something about sending 452 to kill Eyes Only, and now they were all gathered in the control room, waiting for report. Lily didn't believe Max could do it. She truly loved the man and she was fiercely loyal. No matter what, she would never be a pawn for Manticore again. That implant she had had messed up the capacity for her to be re-programmed. Lily believed in her.

She got up from behind her desk, looked to the left and the right and quietly entered the control room. She felt a rush of pride when she heard Eyes Only's voice, but she also got scared when she felt the anxiety in the room. This very moment would decide on what happened next. She moved closer and stared at the screen.

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><p><strong>Do not attempt to adjust your set. This is a streaming freedom video bulletin. The cable hack will last exactly sixty seconds. It cannot be traced, it cannot be stopped, and it is the only free voice left in this city. Your location has been revealed. Your secret is out. And now Manticore will be held accountable for its crimes. Manticore's facility is located an hour southwest of Seattle.<strong>

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><p>Lily held her breath, not wanting to draw any attention on her. This was bad, she didn't think it would go this far. It meant either Max or Lydecker, or both, had indeed been in contact with Eyes Only, very recently. The phone started ringing and Renfro picked it up.<p>

"Renfro." She nodded. "Understood." She hung up, looked around the room. "Lock down the barracks. We're cauterizing the site." Her gaze fell on Lily. She could always find her; know when she was in the room, even when Lily was doing her best to be ignored. It probably had to do with the fact that she was terrified of the director. " 875, go in my office and pack up my data, this is an emergency state, you know what to do. Be ready to leave in 15 minutes. Go. Now."

Lily hesitated only for a second, taken by surprise, and then she started running.


	3. Everybody Out

**Disclaimer: **I obviously do not own Dark Angel, or it never would have been cancelled so abruptly. I do not own the characters, the original script or story. I own Lily, my original character, her designation and others that were never mentioned in the show. I take full responsibility for any crazy thing she might or might not do. This is her story, not mine.

**A/N: **If you made it all the way to here, a review would be most appreciated. Over 20 people read this so far, and not 1 review. Does it suck? Does it have potential, is anyone reading? Just leave me a quick note please, thanks!

**A/N 2: **The next few chapters will contain way more explanation concerning Lily, what she's like, what she can do and what her life was back at Manticore. Main characters will jump in as well. I will stay as true to the show as possible, I will just include Lily in the main plots, as my story needs.

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><p><strong>Chapter 2<strong>

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><p>Lily hesitated only for a second, taken by surprise, and then she started running.<p>

Lily ran to Renfro's office, as she was told. But the only part of her "orders" that she actually followed, was to erase all the data on the Director's computer. The rest, she couldn't care less. There was no way she was leaving the facility with that evil woman. She was very surprised that the director decided to taker her along, but she wouldn't. She hadn't been locked up like the others; this meant she was getting out. And she was going to take as many as her family with her as it was possible in the short time they had remaining. Unlike _**Max**_, she was going to do the right thing. She ran down the hallways, hoping this time she wouldn't be too late. She tried to stop in every room on her way, raising the alarm and telling everyone to get out. She knew not all of them would listen to her. But maybe the ones who did would have time to get out before it was too late. The easier to get out had been the Psy-Ops and the IT units. Mia and Brain trusted her, they would make sure everyone got out.

This was one of those times where she wished she was a soldier, to have the endurance and the "blur" factor to her advantage. She made it to her bunk, stripped out of her stupid outfit and put on some jeans and a t-shirt and a jacket. She had to looks conspicuous enough. She grabbed her "emergency getaway" backpack from under her bed, thankful once again that her room at least wasn't under surveillance. She looked around and smiled, she was not going to miss this place at all.

As she made it outside to switch buildings and get to the barracks, her mind wandered. Renfro had had a short moment where she didn't guard her thoughts earlier, and Lily had been able to catch a glimpse. Renfro wanted 452, she wanted her real _bad. _Something in her genetic code made her special, and Renfro had to bring her to... someone. The director has been hoping that 494 would have brought her back by now, but instead, Eyes Only was able to release that hack. Which could only mean he wasn't dead, and neither was Max. Lily was happy about that, although she had conflicted feelings towards 494's involvement in this mission. She had always had a soft spot for him, and knew he could be as nice and innocent as Ben was, yet he chose not to. But she had more important things to do now than think about him. She wasn't a blushing teenager anymore.

If her mind had been focused as it should have been, she would have seen the approaching X5 at the top of the hill behind her. But she didn't. When she reached the door, parts of the building started to explode. It broke her heart to see people trapped in their rooms, yelling and banging on the walls. The fire alarm barely covered the sound of their screams. The sense of fear and hopelessness was overwhelming her. She was crying, trying not to give in to her feelings of panic. She didn't waste any time trying to open the doors, she knew they were locked. She had to get to the control room and unlock all the doors from there.

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><p>She was accessing the program on the computer when she felt a presence in the room with her. Before she had time to react, she was pinned against the wall, her arm painfully twisted behind her. She expanded her mind and listened in, Max! She did come back for them after all. Lily felt her eyes fill with tears again and tried to free her arm. She was roughly pushed against the wall again. "Don't move! I don't have time to hurt you but I will if you try to keep me from freeing these people. You monsters! Killing your own creations."<p>

"Max! Listen to me, we don't have a lot of time, you're right about that. But I'm on your side. I was **opening** the doors." She was turned around but shoved back against the wall, unable to move. Max was staring at her, suspicion in her eyes, her grip still like steel. "Oh, I know you probably don't even remember me, but I'm Lily, you know me. I'm not one of **them**, I'm one of you, designation 875, psy-ops. You can trust me, I want out as much as you do. We have to free everyone and then get out. Max, Renfro wants you, she won't leave without you."

Max let her go, her eyes still murderous. "Tell me where she is! I have a few issues to settle with her myself."

Lily shook her head; Max had completely dismissed what she just said and went straight for the mention of Renfro. "She has to be in her office, packing the data she needs to start over. I didn't follow orders and didn't execute her emergency plans. But she will be leaving momentarily. Don't let her get you!"

"I said, I have to see her. Alec said she was the one with the antigen that can save Logan." The words were almost incoherent, but the images and the sense of dread that assaulted Lily made her understand that Max would not listen to her. She relaxed and Max let go of her, turning to the computers. She finished what Lily started, flipped a switch and the hall doors opened. Soldiers of different ages spilled into the hallways. Lily centered her thoughts and felt a lot of activity on the grounds. People were running away from the facility. Good. And she also felt a lot of activity in the basement.

"Someone is also letting the downstairs people out. We have got to get out of here!"

Understanding filled Max's eyes; Joshua must have been taking care of his own while she freed the barracks. "You run ahead, I have a meeting with Renfro. But remember, next time I see you, you're going to have a lot of explaining to do." With these words, she ran out. Lily sighed. She wasn't sure she liked this grown-up bitchy version of Max. She was nothing like she remembered. Maybe that's what happened after 10 years in the world, knowing you left half your family in hell. She shook herself back to the present. She couldn't afford to waste time being bitter, the building would come down any minute. Besides, she had to keep in mind that Max did come back and let them free. Although the only reason she came back was to get revenge on Renfro and save her beloved Eyes Only. She took a deep breath and made her way through the smoke and flames that filled the hallway.

When she finally made it to the top of the hill, she was one of the last ones. She felt satisfied; this was truly the end of Manticore. She stood still for a moment, watching the buildings collapse. She couldn't help but smile. All she needed to do now was to make it to Seattle, and she would finally have a life of her own…..


	4. Not Alone

**Disclaimer: **I obviously do not own Dark Angel, or it never would have been cancelled so abruptly. I do not own the characters, the original script or story. I own Lily, my original character, her designation and others that were never mentioned in the show. I take full responsibility for any crazy thing she might or might not do. This is her story, not mine.

**A/N: **Thank you to X5 for the review, very much appreciated that you took the time, and Thank you to FirstBorn, who put an alert on the story, that tells me at least 1-2 people wants me to know what happens next.

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><p><strong>Operation: Fortitude<strong>

**Chapter 3**

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><p>Some of the others were still near-by, she could sense them. But she didn't know what kind of others, friendly or not. She didn't want to waste time finding out. She walked carefully in between cars in the parking lot, trying to find a match for the key that was stored in her bag. She was suddenly hit with a lot of emotion at once, and she knew somebody was very close. Someone who'd seen her. She barely had time to turn around that that someone was right there in front of her. She hated being taken by surprise, she really needed to start training more.<p>

"Well, well, well. What do we have here? A deserter? Tell me what happened here kid!" The man standing in front of her grabbed her elbows.

She looked up and was relieved to see a familiar face. "494! You mean, you don't know?"

"Would I be asking if I knew, kid? Now, I'm guessing this all have to do with Manticore's location being revealed on National television? And that Max probably had something to do with it."

She shrugged out of his grip. "I'm not a kid! And yes, Manticore has been terminated by order of the committee. I think most of us managed to escape, but we still need to get out of here. Will you help me 494?"

He leaned against the car and smirked. "Alec"

"Huh?" Gosh. He always managed to make her sound so dumb, no wonder he thought she was a kid.

"My name is Alec now. The way I see it, no more Manticore means no more designations. We need to blend in."

She rolled it around on her tongue just for the pleasure of it. Alec. Aaaalec. She smiled, it suited him. She realized he was still staring at her, amused. She had to say something. "Well Alec, I have to get to Seattle, will you help me?"

"Kid, why would I help you? There's nothing in it for me, and you would slow me down and cramp my style. I can point you in the right direction though and then you can run."

"Stop calling me kid!" She didn't keep her temper in touch and couldn't help projecting her annoyance at him. Just a little. He felt it. He stood up straighter and cocked his head at her.

"Alright. Not a kid. Got it. Actually, I think I remember you now. 875 is it? The little flower who likes to read books." He didn't need for her to confirm, but when she looked surprised, he knew he was right. He had brought in a few contraband books for her over the years, he remembered her. "So, I would have thought a "reader" such as yourself would have been the very first one out of the building. How do you suppose to get to Seattle, since running through the woods is out of the question?"

She was still irritated with him, but she had no choice. "I have a car. But, I can't drive. Will you or will you not help me?"

He swallowed back a chuckle. "Driving, huh? What's in it for me for playing chauffeur?"

She shrugged. "You get to keep the car. The papers are in order and it's all yours if you take me to Seattle."

"Well now, I believe we have ourselves a very nice business arrangement. But don't go thinking that makes us friends or anything. I don't intend any family reunion when we get there. I go my way and you go yours, understand?"

"Fine, I could use the quiet anyways, do you always talk this much?" He laughed and took the keys from her. "Let's go then, let's not waste any more time in this place."

She nodded, relieved to be on her way.

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><p>"What do you mean we're spending the night here?" She stomped her foot, ignoring his amused grin. She didn't like the look of the No-Tel Motel place.<p>

"Well Lily-Flower, when the sky is all dark like that, that means is night-time." He faked a yawn. "Night-time means normal people don't drive around, they sleep. We are trying to blend in. We should stop in for the night. Be on our way tomorrow morning. Only suspicious people or runaways drive all night."

In a way, he was right. It would be a bit suspicious, and she was exhausted. It was getting very hard to keep out of Alec's thoughts. She could use the rest. Contrary to many X-5s, Lily needed to sleep, maybe not 8 hours every night, but 4-6 at least. Sounded like Alec was one of those too. Of course, in the middle of nowhere like they were, there was only 1 room available. At least it had 2 beds.

And what enchanted Lily most was the bathroom. Her very own private shower! With a door that she could close and even lock if she wanted to. She gave Alec almost all her backup money for gas and food and whatnot. She just wanted him gone, so she could taste the luxury of a long hot, private shower. She had been outside Manticore before, on trips with Lydecker or Renfro, but it had almost always been day trips. Or with Lydecker, they would travel at night or sleep over at a military facility. Never any time for relaxation. She wouldn't dare wasting time for a bath, not with Alec so close by, but some day soon, she would. When she was settled in her new life.

When Alec came back with a pizza (Pizza!) and soda, she was sitting on one of the bed, legs crossed, meditating.

He shook his head at her. "Now that's something you don't get to see everyday, a soldier meditating." He handed her the pizza box.

"Well I ain't technically a soldier, you know" She happily grabbed a slice of the hot pie. "I mean, I was built with the same DNA coding, more or less, but you got 15 years of physical training on me. I am an X-5, just like you. But when I was about 6 years-old, I got transferred from my unit into PsyOps, and that was pretty much the end of my "soldier" career. I became a different kind of weapon entirely."

He sat down on his bed and started eating as well. "What happened to you? How did you get transferred?"

"I'm not defective or anything. They just figured out I had other talents, more valuable to them than just developing my skills as a fighter. They noted that my level of empathy and intuition were way off the scale, to speak of. Add that to a high capacity to blend in, to have people not notice you or not look at you twice, and you have a spy. That's what they used to train me for. To be their eyes and ears."

He handed her a soda. "But being an X5, you have all the enhanced reflexes, stamina, strength, speed and everything, right?" She nodded. "So, basically, you're saying that in addition to that, you can read minds?"

"That's a very basic and crude way to put it, but yes, let's say I can read minds. I can block most of it out at will, unless I'm voluntarily looking for information, 'listening' in if you want. I can also sense emotions in people, making it very hard to lie in my presence. Lately, they had me trained with other Psyops to see if I could learn to "Project" properly, to influence the others around me. I absolutely hated it in de-programming, so much fear and pain." She looked down, not wanting to remember.

"So, with a little bit of training, you could do everything I do?"

"Pretty much, yes. My physical training has been lacking since I was transferred, but I could, if I wanted to. Lydecker used to tell me that there are no limits. What the mind can conceive, the body can achieve, with the right training."

"Oh well, good luck with that. As far as I'm concerned, since we have to join in with the civilians now, there will be no more training. I intend to find a nice place to live and just chill and have fun. Just to be clear though, you're not in my head?"

"In your head? Oh, listening in you mean? Oh no. I usually tune most of it out. It's like background noise, white noise. I can hear it but I'm not paying attention to it. It gets easy to ignore. Of course if I'm tired or I have a headache or something it gets a bit harder, but let's say I've had practise. What people think about is never as interesting as you would think."

He leaned back against the headboard of the bed. "Alright, just checking. I'm gonna watch a bit of TV here. You should catch some sleep kid, we're going to leave early tomorrow."

She sighed, as he started flipping through channels. "You know, I've just explained we're from the same series, so that makes us the same age, and still, you have to call me kid?"

"Well it feels like you're a kid. You're so… innocent. You're not a soldier or a fighter, you're the little girl who used my contraband network to get books. Fiction. Do you realize how it made me look to hide fiction books under chemistry covers and such? Talk about my rep here." He winked at her, chuckling. "And I think you are pretty naïve. Especially for someone with an insight on what everybody else is thinking. I wonder how you'll fare in the real world. I have a feeling it's going to eat you right up girlie. Those books of yours, they did not prepare you for what's out there. Manticore had it right on one account, it's still a war to survive, it's like the Jungle, and only the strong make it."

Maybe Alec was right. It was hard to tell, they had been living a very different life. Maybe she had been more sheltered than she thought possible. Maybe it did make her naïve. But it didn't matter anymore, not out here. She was free now, she could be anyone and do whatever she wanted. But she would give some thought to his point of view though.

"Think what you will, but now, here, whatever we were back there, it doesn't really matter anymore. We are all getting a fresh start. It won't be easy, that I know, but whatever I make my life to be, it will be **mine**. But please try and call me Lily, that _is_ my name after all."

She snuggled up under the covers, amazed at how soft the pillows were. Pillows, as in more than 1. Not bad for a start.

"You're not completely wrong there, not right, but not wrong either. You're smarter than I gave you credit for. But you're Psyops after all, must be all part of the master plan. Might be you'll make it out there. Alright, Goodnight Lily."

"Goodnight Alec." She turned around and closed her eyes. It was nice not to be completely alone on her first night out.


	5. Regrouping

**Disclaimer: **I obviously do not own Dark Angel, or it never would have been cancelled so abruptly. I do not own the characters, the original script or story. I own Lily, my original character, her designation and others that were never mentioned in the show. I take full responsibility for any crazy thing she might or might not do. This is her story, not mine.

**Reviews: **Yes,please! And Thank you to X5 for your nice reviews, I'm glad you're enjoying.

**A/N:** This was my hardest chapter to write so far. I wanted to follow the episode as much as possible , so I used a lot of the original dialog. I've had a really tough week at work so I hadn't been able to write as much as I wanted, but I have at least the next chapter done. If everything goes well, it'll get posted tomorrow or Saturday. Please let me know what you think and review!

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><p><strong>Operation Fortitude<strong>

**Chapter 4**

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><p>The next morning, while Alec was enjoying more of the television in the room, Lily indulged in another shower. As she was dressing up again, she frowned. She was feeling way too much anxiety. It sure wasn't coming from Alec, but it was oddly familiar all the same. She opened the door to the bathroom and found Alec looking out the window.<p>

"Alec, what do you see? What's going on?" Before he could answer, they heard a gunshot. It came from the store in the parking lot.

He turned to her. "Lily, you gotta tell me, who's in there?"

She gathered her wits and concentrated. "Kids. It's kids, they're scared and hungry and desperate and didn't have a choice. They're lost."

He groaned. "That can only mean one thing. We're screwed. Those kids have to be…"

"Manticore" They said at the same time. Less than a minute later, they indeed saw 3 kids running out of the Food Mart. More people started to gather around the motel, some of them pointed to the back of their necks and then their room.

Alec picked up his jacket. "Great, that's just great. Come on Lily, we gotta go and forget about the car. We've been found. I should have known that this chick asking about my tattoo last night could only mean trouble. Now they must think we're part of a gang or something."

She didn't ask any questions, just did as she was told. Besides, he was practically screaming the answers at her, somebody noticed his bar code last night and probably saw the kid's too and made the connection. The wrong connection for sure, but still, they figured out something was up. And Alec really wasn't happy about it.

They ran behind the building, and Alec was looking for a replacement car when Lily stopped him.

"Wait a minute! You mean to leave those kids here? We can't, we have to help them."

"What am I, their babysitter? No way, we have to get out of here, before somebody starts asking too many questions. Listen, I agreed to take _you_ to Seattle, no one else. You have to understand that we are on the run. We're not free yet."

She crossed her arms on her chest and glared at him. "Well, someone has to teach those kids about laying low. If they keep going on like this, it's exposure for everyone, you included. We have to do something. Not all of us know that Manticore tried to kill us. They're scared Alec and I'm not leaving them by themselves without trying to explain what's going on."

She started for the cover of the woods, knowing he would follow. Maybe he didn't care about anyone else but himself, but he had to know she was right. Exposure would be bad. Manticore burned down, but there would be people hunting them still. She heard him curse, and then he followed after her. She hid her smile from him. He wasn't half as bad as he wanted her to believe.

It didn't take them long to find the kids. There was an abandoned barn not too far into the woods, and Alec had seen junk-food scattered along the way. They found 5 kids inside.

"Daddy's home." Announced Alec and Lily couldn't help rolling her eyes at him. But it was effective, they all dropped their food and stood at attention and started designating themselves. There were 2 girls and 3 boys, including a very young one.

"X6-787, sir." "X6-809, sir." Alec interrupted them. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever."

Lily walked past him and elbowed his ribs. "Be Nice!" She smiled at them. "At ease kids, we're here to help."

"No, we're are you bozos thinking, knocking over a Kwik-E-Mart?"

"Sir?" 787, the older boy, looked at Alec, puzzled.

"I had a very sweet deal going, and you blew it. Now, instead of getting out of here, I have to teach you about exposure. And then, I'll have to find another car, because you just cost me mine." Lily nudged him, pointing at an X7 standing by the wall." What's that doing here?"

"He escaped the attack with us, sir." answered a younger girl with red hair.

Lily cut in. "Oh, sweetie, there was no attack. That's what we're trying to tell you…"

"Excuse me sir, we mean the attack on Manticore." Objected 787 again. "But Command's been re-established. We saw a signal to regroup last night."

Lily frowned. "The signal. I forgot about the damn signal!" Alec just glanced at her. "You knew about this?" She sighed. "Not exactly. But I should have guessed."

"The rendezvous is about six klicks from here, sir, south-southwest. We were just about to move out." said another boy.

Lily looked at them. They were really lost without Manticore, it was all they knew. If that signal told them to regroup, they were going to regroup. "Listen kids, I know you want to believe the signal, I know this is all confusing, but you can't trust Manticore. They're trying to kill us. Or for some of us, put us back in a cage. The only attack on Manticore, was Manticore deciding to lock us in and burn us alive."

"Burn us alive, sir? If I may, that doesn't make any sense. We're valuable military assets, representing billions of dollars in R&D." said 787.

"Don't you think I know that, 787? I was Psyops, so there are a lot of things I know, that you can't even begin to imagine. So, if I tell you Manticore is trying to kill us and that this signal is a fake, trust me."

"But our training says to follow orders, the signal is our order. We need to make the rendezvous point and regroup." added 809.

Lily was getting a bit irritated. "Alec now would be a good time to jump in and help me explain this."

He looked up from the bag of pop-corn he picked up. "They're trying to kill us. The signal's bogus. It's a trap. Listen to the nice lady, she knows what she's talking about."

"But why would Manticore try to get rid of us?" asked the little girl with red hair.

"I want to get rid of you, and I just met you."

Lily snapped. "Alec, that's **enough**. How are they ever going to take us seriously if you're acting like a jerk?" He smirked at her.

"We should be going, sir. They're waiting." They formed rank again.

"Okay, what part of "They're trying to kill you" did you not understand? Lily already explained it to you in a nice way, easy to understand."

"All respect, sir, but officers of rank superior to yours left standing orders to regroup when instructed to do so."

Alec smiled, while Lily just sat down on a ball of hay, defeated. "Well, far be it from me to violate the chain of command."

All the kids lined up behind 787, except the X7 who hasn't moved at all. 787 looked at him. "I'm going to have to report you." He looked over at Lily and Alec. "All three of you." And then they left.

"You do that." said Alec, as he opened another bag of chips.

Lily walked over to the X7. Alec was busy ignoring them. She sighed and sat in front of the kid. Back at Manticore, she had been trying to decipher the code inside the X7's heads. Alec didn't seem in a hurry to leave, maybe she could study the kid a little while longer. She could "hear" the sounds/codes, but couldn't quite make sense of it yet.

She felt hopeless, thinking of the kids who just ran back into the lion's den. There had to be something more she could have said, could have done. She turned to Alec, who was reading one of the bags he was eating from.

"Alec? Do you think that…?"

"No."

"You don't even know what I was going to say."

"Oh, I know what you were going to say. Something along the lines of maybe we could have done more, maybe we should have said something different. And my answer to that is No. That's the thing with setting people free Lily, now, they are free to make any stupid decision they want."

He had a point. It didn't make her feel better, but it made sense. Maybe there was no reason to stay here. Just as if he heard her, Alec got up, brushed his hands on his pants and smiled at her.

"Ok, we gave them enough time to change their minds and come back. They're gone, and we should leave too. Unless you wanted to try and make friends with the weird kid some more?"

"I guess you're right, we should go. But thank you. We didn't accomplish anything, but thank you for letting me try."

"Oh well, I knew you'd whine and bug me about it, so I saved myself the headache and just had a snack instead."

She made an annoyed sound at him and turned to the door. "Alright then, let's go see if we can get that car back."

And then the kids ran back into the barn, terrified, all talking at once. The little boy attached itself to Lily's legs. She put her hand on his head, trying not to be scared herself. The others went to Alec. 787 wasn't with them.

"Sir, you were right. It was an ambush."

"They shot at us."

With the little boy still grabbing at her, Lily made her way to the rest of the kids. "Where's 787? How did you lose them?" She widened her eyes. "You **did** lose them, right?"

A motorcycle fast approaching interrupted the questioning. Lily pushed the boy behind her and noticed that Alec moved in front of the other kids as well.

"If you idiots let them follow you." He looked outside the barn and saw it was Max, with 787. "Oh, great."

"Is it them sir?"

"I wish."

Lily gave him a questioning look and then heard the answer. Max. Now that was just what they needed. She sighed and moved away from the door. She did not want to get into a big explanation of why they were here and why they could be trusted.

Max barged in, supporting 787 who had a bloody leg. Lily put a hand to her mouth and reflexively touched her own leg. Max barely spared a look for them and laid 787 on a table. Lily brought the little boy to the others and went to the table, thinking that maybe she could help. That was a bad idea. 787 was hysterical and going into shock. She grabbed hold of the table, slightly shaking and took a deep breath.

"Get me something to tie his leg off with." Max barked at Alec and he gave her his belt. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing. I should have known though. You girls and saving kids, must be all that maternal instinct."

"I'd kick your ass Alec, but we don't have time for that right now." She looked at Lily. "Well, don't just stand there, make yourself useful, and hold him down, he's not going to like what we do next."

With shaky hands, she pushed on 787's shoulders. It was going to be ok, it wasn't her pain, her leg was fine. She felt sweat forming on her forehead. She was trying really hard to keep control of herself. Besides, Max was already giving them attitude and barking orders, she could not not handle herself right now.

Alec pulled out a pocket knife. "The bullet went right through. We're gonna have to cauterize."

"He's going into shock. Get something to keep him warm." Lily asked 809 who was standing next to them. The girl was not looking well herself.

"I'm going to be sick." was the only answer she heard. The girl left and emptied her stomach outside. Again, Lily closed her eyes and concentrated on her breathing. She would not be sick, it wasn't her leg, and the pain wasn't her own. She was going to be ok. It wasn't her pain. The shaking would stop, it wasn't her pain, her leg was fine. All she needed to do was concentrate on her breathing.

"Bet that one flunked field med." Alec was using a lighter to heat up the blade and he handed it to Max.

"I'm not gonna lie... this is gonna hurt like hell." Max held the blade close to 787's leg, ready to cauterize the wound. Alec caught a glimpse of Lily, breathing heavily; eyes closed, and sweat pouring down her face, but still holding the kid down. He barely had time to understand that she was probably feeling everything the kid was, and Max was going to…

"Max, wait, no!"

"No time Alec." She touched the knife to 787's leg and both him and Lily starting yelling, as some smoke raised from the wound.

"Hang on, hang on. It's almost over. Come on Max, hurry. Okay, it's done. Hey, hey, you're gonna be okay. All right?"

787 shut his eyes and then tried to hold his screams in, but he and Lily were crying freely. Max removed the blade from the leg and told him he was going to be alright. Lily smiled, still shaking and then the world went dark.

Alec and Max looked at her hit the floor, surprised.

"Did she just faint? What the hell is wrong with her? How are you going to help me get these kids out of here now?"

"What do you mean, "We"? This is your party, not mine. The only deal I made is with her. I'm not a damn babysitter and I didn't sign up for 5 kids either." He picked Lily up from the ground and brought her over some hay, where the little boy threw a blanket on. He gently laid her down. He went back to Max and sighed. "But I guess I'm not going anywhere until she wakes up. What's your plan?"


	6. Typical

**Disclaimer: **I obviously do not own Dark Angel, or it never would have been cancelled so abruptly. I do not own the characters, the original script or story. I own Lily, my original character, her designation and others that were never mentioned in the show. I take full responsibility for any crazy thing she might or might not do. This is her story, not mine.

**A/N:** Overall, this is not my favorite chapter. I am not as good as I would like with action. Practice is always good though. After this chapter, I have another one ready to finish with this episode, and then we'll focus more on Lily getting settled in in Seattle. And then we'll move on with the storyline. Please please review, to let me know what you think. Also, sorry if this chapter is late, work and life have been getting in the way. Ill try to have the next one up in a couple of days.

**Thanks:** Again, a big Thank you to **X5** for reading and reviewing and thank you to my new reader **Silently Tearful. **With all the hits this story is getting, I have to assume others are reading, so thank you for your interest as well. I wished more people would take 2 seconds to review though. :)

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><p><em><strong>Chapter<strong>__** 5**_

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><p>When Lily came back to her senses, the first thing she noticed was all the beeping sounds. The X7 was very agitated, but she still couldn't figure out what any of it meant. Then she heard Max and Alec having words. About her. She sighed. She really wasn't having the best time with Max. She hoped it would get better, but she doubted it. She sat down.<p>

"And how are you sure she's not a Manticore spy? If she worked close to Renfro, that makes her very dangerous."

"Max, we're all very dangerous, that's what we were built for. As far as I'm concerned, Lily was very glad to be out; she **wanted** to be out, as opposed to some of us who didn't ask for anything. Besides, even if she did work for Renfro, didn't you say that the bitch died and never made it out of the fire?"

"Yes, Renfro is dead. But these people in the woods with the false signal, who are they? Manticore or some other government branch? What do they want exactly? How can we be sure that she is not working for them? You said she was Psyops, in my experience; those were the most dangerous people in there. They **enjoyed** what they did to us. I'm not even sure if I can trust **you**, after what you did to Logan, and now I find her with you?"

Lily had heard enough. She walked over to Max, where she was facing Alec, who was leaning against the door frame of the barn, looking out.

"Let's get something clear Max, and I really hope I don't have to keep reminding you every time we meet. Look at me. I mean, really look at me. Remember me for next time. Remember me from where we were young."

Max stared at her but then looked away. "Are you trying to play a trick on me?"

Lily threw her hands up in the air. The girl was **so** stubborn. "No, I'm not. I don't know how many times I have to tell you I'm on your side." She lifted her hair and turned around, showing her barcode. "See? It doesn't say "Deadly PsyOps Spy - Do Not Trust. Does it? I didn't think so. I'm not playing any tricks. I'm just like you, minus all the physical training. I used to be in your Unit, with all your brothers and sisters. See my designation? X5-875. Not a monster, just me." She let her hair fall down her back and turned around facing Max again. "It **is** in my coding for people not to remember me. If they don't look at me twice. But if you take a moment to really look at me, learn my name and familiarize yourself with my face, then you will **know** me. You won't forget me. Maybe even remember me. Whether you trust me or not, that will still be an issue, but at least we won't have to go through this ever again." She grabbed Max's hand and shook it. "Hi, I'm Lily, nice to meet you."

Max looked at her again and didn't look away for a long time. Her eyes were still screaming that she was unwilling to trust her, but at least she was really looking. "Fine, you're X5, that doesn't mean I trust you but at least you're not the enemy. Right now, the important thing to do is to get these kids out safely."

Lily nodded, finally something they could agree on. It took long enough! Max went back to the kids and gave them a long speech about Manticore being bad. She then gave them names. They didn't argue too much with her, probably because Max was made for Command. That, and the fact she wouldn't let anyone get the last word. Or it could just be that the kids were willing to believe her after being shot at. The important thing was that they listened and they were going to go far far away from here. They were going to be safe.

The plan was pretty simple, Fixit was, well, **fixing** the old truck so they could leave. Max would get them some papers and money, she had contacts. Lily didn't say a word, although she knew it was Eyes Only. Max only tolerated her for the moment, why ruin it by making it obvious she knew about Max and Eyes only?

They gave her some privacy while she walked away to make her phone call, leaving her to pretend they didn't know anything.

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><p>That night, Logan was sitting at his computer. His cell phone rang and he answered it quickly<em>.<em> "Hello ?"

"It's Lydecker."

Logan looked behind him and then at the caller ID on his phone. "How did you get this number?"

"Never mind that. I need you to help me get in touch with Max."

"What for ?"

"I can't tell you that. Do you know where she is ?"

Logan fiddled with his glasses, not sure if he should tell Lydecker. "Somewhere in the woods outside Manticore."

Lydecker sighed. He should have known that she'd be exactly where she shouldn't be. "He'll be looking for her."

"He ? Who's he ?"

"If you hear from her... tell her to get out of there as fast as she can. There'll be very bad people looking for her." Lydecker closes the computer with Max's DNA workup on it. "One more thing son, have you heard about anyone else from Manticore?"

"Except for that X5 that showed after Max infected me with the virus, no. Why"

"Another X5? Male or Female?"

"Male. Max called him Alec. But that was before fire though. Again, I ask, why? Is there someone else after us?"

"There's always going to be people after Max, don't you understand she is special? But the X5 I'm talking about is not an enemy. She has a lot of information and could be quite useful to you and a lot of help to Max as well. She has instructions to get in touch with you, you'd be wise to keep her safe. I'll be in touch when I can."

Before Logan can place another word, Lydecker hung up on him. Another X5? He would have to check with Max if she met with anyone else since the escape. But for now, he had papers and money to get ready before meeting with Max at the rendezvous point.

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><p>Alec decided he was tired of just sitting there and declared it was time for them to leave. Seeing that the truck would be fixed in no time and everyone was safe, Lily didn't argue too much. Of course Max had something to say about it. "Figures you'd forget the one good thing Manticore ever taught us... never abandon your unit."<p>

Lily's temper flared up at that comment. She jammed her hands in her pockets and looked away. Never abandon your unit. Max wouldn't know anything about that. She wasn't the one left behind, **they **were. It took all she had not to retort anything back, she just threw the girl a murderous look. Only Alec seemed to notice, with a very amused grin.

She walked over to say goodbye to the kids while Alec mouthed off to Max some more. "Well, thanks to you, there is no more Manticore. You made this mess. Not me."

Lily was still so irritated with Max, that she just waved at the brunette and walked out of the barn. She didn't look back, she just followed Alec, no questions asked. At least her companion was able to sense her black mood, and he didn't say anything. He was able to sneak back to the motel and get their car back. She was the one to turn on the radio very loud when they were on their way, she really didn't need to hear anyone else, she had enough on her mind as it was.

They were quiet until they saw an old, familiar battered truck in front of them. Lily looked at it and then lowered the volume of the radio. "Alec, isn't that the kid's truck? Why are they going the wrong way?"

Alec hit the dashboard with his palm. "It's the truck all right. Of course they'd be going the wrong way. I'm so tired of helping everybody, when we get to the city, I'm telling you, I'm not going to be hanging out with any of you ever again." He rolled down the window when the truck got in hearing range. "Hey, you're heading the wrong way!" The kids didn't seem to notice them and just kept going. He rolled his eyes. "Typical**."**

Lily crossed her arms on her chest and glared at him. "Oh I know Lily. I don't need to hear them to know something went wrong and we have to be freaking heroes again. I'm on it already."

He made a U-Turn on the road and stepped on the gas, going after the kids. He was so busy being mad that he completely missed the sparkling smile of the girl sitting next to him.


	7. Rescue

**Disclaimer: **I obviously do not own Dark Angel, or it never would have been cancelled so abruptly. I do not own the characters, the original script or story. I own Lily, my original character, her designation and others that were never mentioned in the show. I take full responsibility for any crazy thing she might or might not do. This is her story, not mine.

**A/N:** Alright, after this, I promise, it's back to Seattle. As usual, I would **love **some reviews. This story is getting a lot of hits, and so far I only have 2 reviewers. Speaking of, **Big Thanks** to **X5 **and **Silently Tearful**, for taking the time to review, it means the world to me.

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><p><strong>Operation<strong> **Fortitude**

**Chapter** **6**

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><p>The kids circled the camp and crouched in the bushes nearby. Before they could make a move, Alec and Lily snuck up behind them.<p>

"Let me guess. She got herself caught saving your butts."

Bullet guiltily smiled up at Alec, obviously relieved to see them. "Pretty much. So now we have to get her out."

"All right. Well, let's get this over with. Kids, you form a circle and you watch each other's backs. Lily and Bugler, you get in the middle, safe. Lily, I'm counting on you to listen real hard, alright? You tell me everything I need to know."

She nodded and they took position. She was glad that Alec took charge like that. She could hear the kids wondering why she would need coverage, but she blocked it all, she needed to concentrate.

They started with the obvious, the generator. Zero took out the soldier guarding it and Fixit went to work on it. Moments later, all the lights went out.

Alec grinned. "Alright! Time to party!" He turned to Lily. "Can you find out where Max is? I'd rather not go through every tent."

She nodded, listened very hard and was then able to get them a map of where every single person in this encampment was. She couldn't help feel a little bit smug when Alec was impressed. Maybe she wasn't a soldier, but she was still very useful, in her own way. She pointed to the tent to the right, that's where they would find Max. "There's someone else from Manticore caged in there too. Another soldier."

Ralph and Bullet took out a couple of soldiers guarding Max's tent. Alec retrieved a gun and keys from one of the soldiers and signalled to Bullet and Ralph to get back to cover. They ran off while he entered the tent. Lily made sure the others were to stay hidden and followed him in. He turned around immediately and hissed at her. "I told you to stay covered."

Before she could answer that he needed her, Max saw them. "Alec, over here."

"To the rescue." He knelt down and tried on a few keys. "Still wanna kick my ass?"

"Maybe later. Hurry up."

Their banter was completely lost on Lily, who had moved in front of the reptilian man in the cage next to Max. She held out her hand and he did the same. She was smiling at him, cooing reassuring words.

Alec finally got the lock opened and let Max out. Lily whipped her head around and pointed at the cage. "Alec, him too."

"Are you kidding me?"

"No, she's right, he's getting out too." Max was looking at Lily who seemed to be talking with the man. It was very odd to look at.

"Yes, it's going to be ok. I'm scared too. And I'm angry at them too, but we just need to get out of here. Just run away and find a place to be safe, OK?" He nodded at her and blinked his eyes, while Alec got the lock unlocked. He stepped out and looked at Lily and then Max.

"It's ok, just run now." He quietly and quickly ran away and Lily turned to Max. "He asked me to thank you for the bug."

Max frowned. "He **talked** to you?"

"Yeah, yeah, no time for chit chat ladies, we gotta get out of here, **now.** The kids are waiting outside. Flower girl here can explain later how it is she can communicate with anything with half a brain. Maybe you girls can even bond over it, for all I care." Lily couldn't help from snorting at that comment, earning a wicked smile from Alec. Max just frowned and decided to ignore them.

They followed Alec out of the tent but then Max stopped them. "The laser show's still going. If you wanna be the hero, you can't be half-assed about it. Let's go."

Alec groaned, but Lily just grabbed his arm and dragged him over. It was absolutely true, the signal had to go. It seemed like she was going to agree more with Max then she thought.

They got to the machine, Max and Alec took out the guard and Lily went straight to the computer and started entering codes.

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><p>While they were doing that, White and his men found out that Max was not in her cage anymore. He called out full alert and noticed one of his men watching the sky. "What are you looking at?"<p>

"That's not the signal to regroup sir. It's the signal to scatter and go to ground."

White cursed and barked into his radio. "White to all units. Disable the signal now."

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><p>Lily moved from the computer. "It's done. Trash it." Alec shot at the computer and a soldier came up behind him. Before Max could see him Lily screamed. "Alec, look out!" But their reptilian friend came out of nowhere and disabled the soldier, even before Alec had finished turning around. Max waved at him to follow them.<p>

White and his men came up at the same moment. They saw the reptilian man walking across the encampment. White pulled out a gun and shot him.

Lily saw him collapse and gasped, she couldn't hear him anymore. Max started in his direction but Alec held her back and Lily put her hand on her shoulder. "Max, he's dead, listen to Alec, we gotta go now. We've been found and we have to get the kids out." Although she wanted nothing more to stay back and get revenge, Lily was the first one to leave. They had rescued Max and destroyed the laser, they had completed their mission. And walking in front of them kept her tears private.

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><p>Early next morning, they all found themselves together one last time. On an empty road, surrounded by Alec's car, Max's bike, her friend Logan's car, who Lily knew was Eyes Only, and the kid's truck. Logan was standing close to his car, as if to give them time to say goodbye. Max was in front of the kids, handing them envelopes.<p>

"ID's and passports to get you across the border to Canada." She was smiling at them.

Lily could feel all the emotions in the air, as if they were all her own. Relief, sadness, excitement, longing, anxiety. She glanced at Logan, the longing was coming from him. She noticed his eyes never left Max.

"Are we ever going to see you again?" Zero asked.

Lily and Max nodded, while Alec just rolled his eyes.

"Promise. Now I'm going to drop a little wisdom on you grunts, so pay attention. First time I got out in the world, I lost track of all the kids I escaped with. Spent the next ten years trying to find them. Don't let that happen to you. Stay together. You're family."

Lily couldn't believe what she heard. She didn't know if she should be extremely pissed at Max or feel sorry for her. Guess one day they would have to talk about a lot of stuff. She slumped her shoulders, a bit disappointed that Max would not be able to tell her where the others were. But it would be good for Max to actually remember that they were family, and that Manticore people should stick together. At least she was able to pass on the lesson to the next generation. Even if Lily wasn't sure Max really understood that lesson until now.

She moved on to go hug the kids and say goodbye. Alec turned to the car. "Okay, we're out of here before the waterworks start."

Max stopped him. "Hold on. We have one last thing to do... as soldiers."

"And what's that?"

"Pay our respects to those who didn't make it. Attention!"

Lily smiled sadly and stood next to Alec. If their last act as soldiers was to pay their respects, then she was proud of it. Bugler walked forward, and started playing Taps.

She was starting to find it more difficult to be irritated with Max. Maybe she did misjudge her. She quickly wiped her tears before anyone could see, she hated not knowing why she was crying. She was probably channeling someone else's emotions. But she didn't want to know whose, it was private.

When Bugler was done playing, they waved at Max and the kids and got into the car, finally heading towards Seattle. They saw the kids get in the truck and head the other way, while Max walked over to Logan.

"Thanks for coming through on their papers Logan."

"No problem. You sure Alec and his friend didn't need any?"

She looked surprised. "No. He was coming back from a mission when Manticore went down, he already had everything he needed. Besides, I'm still not sure if I can trust him. He's a pain in the ass, that's all I know."

"What about her?"

"Her I know even less about. I have no idea what her deal is. She's a bit weird, she cries a lot. She was PsyOps, not a soldier so I don't trust her at all. But it sounded like she was settling in Seattle, so I guess I could keep an eye out, make sure she lays low."

"You did a good thing, Max. Not just for them, but for all of them. They'll figure it out. You gave them all freedom."

"Then why don't I feel better?" He just looked at her, wishing he could just take her in his arms. From the look on her face, she was feeling the same. "I need some air and time to process. I'm going to go for a ride. See ya later Logan."

She hopped on her bike and left him behind. Logan sighed and watched her go. Then he turned around and got in his car. Time to go back; he had to see if this X5 Lydecker mentioned had tried to contact him. He was intrigued and could definitely use as much help as possible.

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><p><strong>Remember, reviews make me happy and happy me writes faster ;)<strong>


	8. New Start

**Disclaimer: **I obviously do not own Dark Angel, or it never would have been cancelled so abruptly. I do not own the characters, the original script or story. I own Lily, my original character, her designation and others that were never mentioned in the show. I take full responsibility for any crazy thing she might or might not do. This is her story, not mine.

**Thanks/Reviews:** As usual, thanks to the ones who take the time to review. I see that the story is getting a lot of hits, thanks for reading. Please take 2 seconds to let me know what you think. A big big thanks to my friend **Shane C.** he's been so much help and please go check out his stories, you won't be sorry.

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><p><strong>Operation<strong> Fortitude

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><p>Lily only closed her eyes for a minute. She leaned her head on the cool window and allowed herself to relax. She dozed off almost immediately. Alec had to shake her so she would give him her ID to pass checkpoint. Her temporary ID. The one that said she was called Sara Anderson. The one that was provided by Manticore, whenever they took her out of the facility. Not only did she hate that stupid fake name, she was also terrified that anyone from Manticore could trace it back to her. As soon as she made it to her place, she was going to get rid of it, and only use the one Lydecker promised he'd have made for her. She really hoped she was right to trust him. She wasn't sure what she would do if it was all a lie. And she worried about Brain and Mia, how was she going to find them again? Well, Brain would probably find her first.<p>

Alec handed her ID back to her, interrupting her train of thought. He whistled when she gave him the address where she was going. "Sector 9 huh? Not bad for a new start little flower. Maybe I'll stop by and visit if I get bored."

She laughed. "Of course you can come and visit anytime Alec." He was right, from what little she knew of the city, Sector 9 was a good one. It was cleaner, richer and quieter. Probably even safer. Lydecker knew what he was doing.

Alec stopped the car in front of an ordinary but nice-looking building. Lily took a deep breath. "Thanks again for the ride Alec, I really appreciate it."

"No sweat, thanks for the car. Once I find a buyer for this baby, I'll have me a decent start, without even having to steal anything. Well, at least for now." He winked at her.

She hesitated between smiling and rolling her eyes at him, somehow managing to do both at the same time. She would miss him. She really hoped she would see him again. The thought of being all by herself from now on was a bit overwhelming. But this was a new start and no way she was going to admit she was scared. Especially not to Alec. She opened the car door and put a foot on the ground. She could do this.

"Tell you what Lily, I'll give you a couple days to settle in, I'll see to my own and then I'll stop by to see you. You know, give you a number to reach me, see that you don't get yourself in trouble."

She grinned. "I thought you couldn't wait to get rid of me? No more reminders of Manticore, no one to slow you down?"

"Well, you're not so bad. You stay out of my head and I appreciate that. Besides, it is true that our paths have crossed for years, it'd be a shame to throw that away. And most importantly, you don't nag me like Max does."

"Are you saying you want to be friends? Alec! I'm shocked!" She giggled.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever. I'm sure you'll be quite useful, so yes, I want to keep in touch. Don't make a big deal out of it. I'll drop by in a couple of days."

She was still laughing when she closed the door and he drove off. She waved at him and then turned around to face the building. Her laughter died all at once. This was it. She was on her own. For the first time ever, there was no one to tell her what to do; she had no plan, no mission. No one to report to. Now that Alec was gone, she could admit to herself that she was very scared. What if the key and address she had were fake? Was if someone had been on to them back at Manticore? Was if someone was waiting for her inside the apartment?

She shook her head. This was a new start; she said it enough times, now she needed to get on with it. She was one of the lucky ones, she wasn't lost in a city knowing no one and with nowhere to go. And she had been out here before. Well, never on her own and never without a mission, but still, she had. She would be alright. She went inside the building and climbed up the stairs to the third level, looking for 305.

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><p>Logan was sitting in front of his computer, going through all his contacts on the Informant Net, again, trying to find any help getting rid of this virus. Manticore cooked up a good one when they messed with Max's genetics to create a virus that would kill him, and only him, if they touched. He had really gotten on their bad side with his hacks.<p>

He was willing enough to be patient and pretend like everything was OK. Max and him had been through so much already, this was no different. More complicated, yes, but they would find a cure. But he could tell this one was making Max pull away from him. She was scared. So it fell to him to work on this and find someone to help. The sooner the better, before he lost her forever.

Nobody in his network was advanced enough in genetics to be able to help. And even if they were, if they knew even the slightest about Manticore, no amount of money would convince them to help. There had be someone, somewhere who would have the answers to this.

His phone rang and he grabbed it absently. "Hello." "It's Lydecker."

Logan stopped typing and turned away from the screens. "I had a feeling I'd be hearing from you again."

"Don't sound so happy about it."

"Well, if you're calling to follow up on our previous conversation, Max made it back fine."

"She always does."

"Mmm. That's high praise coming from a man who spent the last ten years hunting her down."

"Those days are over now. Tell Max I'll be in touch soon. I'm working on a lead."

"Oh, no. Okay, I'm done taking down these cryptic messages for you. I want to know what's going on."

"Have you heard from my X5 yet? Or any new source? She might not be willing to reveal her identity yet. She could go by the name Sara, or her designation, 875, although I doubt it."

"No, I haven't heard from any mysterious X5 yet. I'll check with Max, maybe she knows something. Does she have anything to do with your "lead"?"

Lydecker sighed. "No. At least I don't think so. I'll have to try and get in touch with her myself then. She is going to be extremely useful to the both of us. I'll have her report back to you when I find her."

"Great, another X5 to keep in check, got it. You still haven't told me what this lead you have for Max is. What is going on? I'm not interested in playing games Lydecker."

"They did a DNA assay on Max when she was back at Manticore. There's something unusual about her genetic makeup... Something even I didn't know about. And trust me, I was pretty sure I knew everything, the X5s were my project, my Unit."

Logan frowned; he expected something bigger, something more dangerous. "DNA assay. What does it mean?"

"I don't know yet. But Renfro must've thought it was important. I found the test results in her briefcase, along with an employee I.D. from a company that, as far as I can tell, doesn't exist. Tell Max I'm looking into it. And try to see if she has any other information. If this was known outside the director's office, she's in even more danger than we thought."

Logan shrugged. "Isn't it always so? But I'll pass your warning on to her."

"Thanks. Also, please let me know if you hear from my X5. I appreciate your help."

"Yeah? Then maybe you can help me with something. I need to locate someone from Manticore."

"I'm listening." Logan grinned and then started to explain to Lydecker what he needed.

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><p>Of course Max had insisted on coming with him. He couldn't possibly go see an ex-Manticore employee without her watching their backs. The man who answered the door was a shady, suspicious, terrified little man.<p>

Always polite, Logan shook his hand. "Lydecker said you worked as a lab tech at Manticore?"

The guy put on a lab coat and looked out the window, to make sure they were not followed. "I'm the one who spliced your DNA to the virus."

Max took a threatening step towards him. "Keep bragging about it, I'm gonna kick your ass."

"Do you want my help or not? 'Cause as soon as I scrape enough cash together I'm leaving town. They're trying to kill me and anyone else who worked there. And having **you** here is not going to help. You're like one of the ones they want the most. It's always been clear that 452 was very important and that she had to be brought back, at any cost. Now it's even worse, the 2 of you are out."

"First of all, who said I was 452? And second of all, what 2 of us? There's a lot more than 2 of us out there. In case you haven't noticed, they tried to fry us and a lot of people escaped the fire."

" Give me a break. I just said I worked on the virus, hello. And I meant that little redhead friend of yours, the reader. They want her back even more than you, she knows too much. They want her back in a cage. The rest of you they just want to kill to protect their secret and start over somewhere new. It's too bad Deck didn't send **her** my way, she's no soldier, I might have tried to exchange her for my life."

Max was about to ask more questions but he cut her off. "Enough with the questions! I told you I need to get out of here, people are looking to kill me. I need money and then I'm out!"

Logan got an envelope full of cash from his pockets. "How much?"

"Ten grand."

Max hissed. "You gotta be kidding me."

But Logan didn't look surprised and just handed the envelope. "Half now, half when you deliver, **if**this works."

The guy sniffed at the money and smiled. "Gonna need a blood sample. Gimme a couple of days to figure out how to kill this virus of yours, and then you two lovebirds can get back to sucking face. And if you happen to find 875 in the meantime, bring her to me and I won't charge you the other half."

"875?" Max and Logan looked at each other, wondering why the other knew that designation. The Tech went on. "Yeah, I told you, she's gotta be worth a lot of money and they want her alive. Whoever gets her can just sell her to the highest bidder and disappear in the sunset. Anyways, leave now, before someone sees you and you get me killed."

Max grabbed him by the collar. "If I haven't heard back from you in a week, you're gonna wish someone else found you first and killed ya, understood?"

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><p>Back in the car, Max crossed her arms and looked at Logan. "Spill. What does 875 means to you?"<p>

"Remember the X5 that Lydecker keeps asking about? The girl he wants us to get in touch with? The X5 he says will be very useful to us?"

"Logan! Please tell me it's not 875?"

"The one and only. You know her?"

"Not exactly. But I've seen her before. Actually, so have you. 875 is Lily, you know, the redhead that came to Seattle with Alec. I don't know how she can be so important, she cries and faints and can't fight. She was in PsyOps though, so that might be why they're after her."

Logan sighed. "Well, at least we know she's in Seattle. I guess that's something…"

"I guess. I also never thought I'd ever say that I wish I knew where Alec was….."

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><p><strong>Thanks, and don't forget to review ;)<strong>


	9. Secrets

**Reviews: **Again, thank you for my fantastic reviewers, this story depends on you :) **X5**, **Silently Tearful**, **Shane C.** and **Firstborn**.

**A/N: **Unfortunately, I haven't been able to post this as fast as I had originally intended. RL has been kicking my ass, work has been pretty insane for the past couple weeks. But I will try to post more than once a week from now on.

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><p>It took Lily a few days before she let herself relax in the new apartment. She was still very alert, but at least she wasn't jumping at every noise anymore. She didn't dare go out for 2 days. She ate her remaining rations and some canned goods she found in the pantry. She spent a lot of time watching out the window, looking at the people in the street. It was fascinating. There was so many of them and they all looked different.<p>

She couldn't help to think about Max and the others, who escaped when they were kids. To be faced with this world, so young. It must have been really hard and scary. She understood Max's defensive attitude a little better now. Maybe she would be able to get over it after all.

She walked away from the window and went to sit on the couch. Her couch. It was hard to get used to. She never really had anything of her own before and her little bunk at Manticore certainly didn't count. It was a pretty simple apartment, a small bedroom, a bathroom, a kitchen and a small place for a couch, which could serve as a living room. The absolute best though, except for the private bathroom, was that there were book shelves. Yes, so much space for her to have books. Just to think that she would be allowed to read and own books of her choice was making her giddy. No more hiding fiction books under fake psychology covers.

Today, she had to go outside. She needed to get food and also, she would be needing clothes. But in order to get anything at all, she needed to gather up her courage and go look behind the book shelves. Yes, she could tell there was a safe. The architecture of the room clearly showed that there was space not accounted for. And Lily knew Lydecker too well. He liked secrets. Of course there'd be a hidden something in this place. Papers, money and anything else he would have seen fit to leave for her. He clearly had a reason for helping her. She just didn't know what it was yet.

She had known he had a plan as soon as she saw the book. There was an old, battered copy of "Little Women", waiting for her on a shelf. To see that book sitting there had spooked her more than anything. She had been stealing glances at it for the past 2 days. This particular book had been the very first book she had read that wasn't about statistics or biology or psychology. One of the first times she had done something just for her. She had broken all the rules for this. She'd also gotten in a lot of trouble when she was caught with it. A whole week in solitary had kept her from books for a couple of months. How had Lydecker known? He hadn't become interested in her abilities for many years after that. After it became clear just how much she could actually do.

She wasn't scared of the book in itself, she was petrified at the idea that it could be the very same copy she once held in her hands. The very same book that had represented her whole world, all her dreams. If it was, it would mean that Lydecker knew more about her than she ever thought possible.

She sighed. She had postponed this moment long enough. She had to see if it was the same book from years ago. If it was, then she would have to worry about what it meant. She would worry about Lydecker, his intentions, later, if need be.

She walked slowly to the wall and grabbed the book with a shaky hand. It felt familiar under her fingers. She opened the first page and saw what she had known was there all along. She let out a long breath and reverently ran her forefinger on the dried petal of the flower. This wasn't a coincidence; this was **her** book, with her flower still in it. She sank to the floor, holding the book to her chest, trying not to panic. What did it mean?

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><p>Logan was catching up on his emails on the Informant Net, still hoping to hear from 875, when the sound of his front door being slammed broke his concentration. He looked up. "Max?" He knew even Asha wouldn't slam the door this hard, no matter how pissed she might be. It was indeed Max. She threw a magazine at Logan and sat on the coffee table, all the way on the other side of the room. Instead of stating the obvious, that she could come closer, he just looked at the magazine. It was a scary picture of a man-dog….thing. From the upset look on Max's face, he had to assume this was a Manticore creature. He looked at the article, <em><strong>"MUTANT ATTACKS CONTINUE... CREATURE ON THE LOOSE." <strong>_"Looks pretty dangerous. Friend of yours?"

Max scowled. "He's not dangerous. Don't judge him because of the way he looks. His name's Joshua. He helped me escape from Manticore."

"Well, fine, but apparently he is breaking into people's houses. Any idea why?" Logan was browsing the article.

"Maybe he's looking for a place to sleep, or something to eat. I have to get to him before something really bad happens." Max gave him a pleading look. Of course he would help.

"I'll see if I can get a hold of those police reports, find the addresses on the break-ins. They're probably all in the same area, near wherever he's hiding."

"Should narrow things down, at least. Thanks Logan, I know this is my responsibility, but I appreciate the help." She got up and brushed her hands on her jeans.

Logan didn't want her to go. The last time they had spent any time together was their attempt at dinner a week ago. It had been going well until she took a bite of the sauce and put the spoon back in, contaminating the whole thing. She had freaked out and left. It seemed like they were only spending time together on business now. And Max was pulling away from him every time, scared to even be in the same room with him. "I can boot up my police scanner, monitor the calls. If he shows up somewhere else, maybe you can get to him before the cops do."

"Good idea, thanks Logan. See ya." Logan knew her mind was already focusing on worrying about Joshua. Besides, she was always in a hurry to leave these days.

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><p>Lily was back in control. She had had her moment of vulnerability, but it was over now. Yes, seeing that old book had been a shock. But it was just Lydecker sending her a message. She wasn't sure if it was threatening or not, but she had decided a long time ago that he was worth her trust; she was going to keep trusting him. After all, without him, she probably wouldn't be alive, or she would be still stuck doing Renfro's bidding. She shuddered. That woman was really bad news. Lily wasn't a violent person, but if she saw the Director again...<p>

After she had gathered the courage to move the bookshelves from the wall, she was ready. She entered the code she knew Lydecker would have used, making a mental note to change it. 533875, Model Unit and Designation. As obvious to any transgenics as 1234 would be for humans. When she opened the door, which surprised her to be as tall as she was, she found herself standing in front of closet-size room, filled with supplies. At first, it had taken her breath away. She knew Lydecker was secretive and always had a backup plan, but this was insane.

There was a smaller safe in which she found her new ID, passport, sector pass, the deed of the apartment and a lot of money, all stacked in hundred bills. There was also a booklet of a bank account with even more money in it. Probably some research funds that had been wired before the fire. On one side, on the 2 shelves were a complete military arsenal: surveillance equipment, com gear, rations, survival kits and all kinds of weapons, small and bigger caliber. She paid next to no mind to it, as she didn't really like weapons. She did grab a nice pocketknife and threw it on the couch behind her. On the other side of the room though, electronics, that was more up her alley. Lydecker was trying to tell her something, she was probably supposed to set up some kind of operation here. There was everything she could possibly need.

She grabbed the laptop, the external drive, the printer and the extra monitors and set everything up on the coffee table. She went back for paper and pens and saw one of those untraceable cell phones. The light on it was blinking. She brought it back to the table and forgot about it. She got everything hooked up and realized she was smiling again. She did feel more comfortable with a purpose, as much as she hated to admit it. A life in a military environment cannot be forgotten overnight, as much as you wanted to taste your freedom. And she always liked to do research. Now that she was all set up, she could conduct her own research on Eyes Only and his infamous Informant Net, maybe she could help. And maybe, just maybe, she could find the others.

For the next several hours, she was totally focused on her monitors. She was lost in all the available information online. Unfortunately, even the Informant Net had no trace of Brain. She thought he'd be easier to find. She had assumed he would be hacking into everything he could and be a bigger presence online. But she couldn't find any trace of him anywhere. She really hoped he was OK. Mia would be trickier to find, as she was able to leave no trace of where she went. Maybe she was even far away from Seattle. Maybe they both were, maybe she would never see them again.

She rubbed her eyes and went back to her research on transgenics. She found a series of articles in a trashy newspaper. The current title was ''_** MUTANT ATTACKS CONTINUE... CREATURE ON THE LOOSE.'' **_The picture on it showed a Man-Dog. She frowned. It was probably someone from Manticore, but was it worth following up on?

She kept looking online, hacking into Police security and other websites, trying to get more information on those sightings. She was so focused that she didn't see the cell phone vibrate several times while she was reading.

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><p>Lydecker slammed the phone back on its hook and walked away from the pay phone. Still no answer. Either 875 didn't make it out of Manticore on time or somehow she hadn't been able to make it to the safe house yet. It was too risky for him to go there himself. He might have to get Max involved. He walked back to his car and decided he would wait another 24 hours before contacting Logan again. Hopefully he would hear back from 875 before time was up.<p>

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><p><strong>Reviews reviews reviews :)<strong>


	10. Purpose

**Reviews:** To my 4 reviewers, thank you so very much! **X5, FirstBorn, Silently Tearful** and of course **Shane C. **

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><p><strong>Operation<strong> Fortitude

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><p>Alec showed up at Lily's place the next morning. Well, morning for him, almost noon for the rest of the world. He was out late last night. He'd heard about this underground fighting pit, and was able to secure a spot as a contender. He made a decent amount of money too when he won. Only a couple more fights and he would have enough to settle down. Of course, having him fight against ordinaries was completely unfair, but it's not like he ever cared about rules. It was a good enough way to make quick cash. And it wasn't even completely illegal. Maybe if he could get Lily to come to the fights, she could bet on him and they would make even more money. Somehow he doubted she would be interested in watching him fight though.<p>

He stopped by the market. Shortage or not, if you had the money to spend, you could score almost anything. This morning, he was able to get his hands on some coffee and some fresh pastries, in the croissant family. The smell was mouth-watering. He also made sure to be very generous with his spendings, so folks would remember him if he should ever need something more specific.

He made his way back to the building where he dropped off Lily a couple days ago. He climbed up the stairs and knocked on door 305.

When she opened the door, she smiled at him, but he was able to tell something was wrong. She had 2 pencils stuck in her pulled up hair and she looked like she hadn't slept in days. It was clear her attention was elsewhere. She invited him in and went right back to the couch, where she had papers scattered everywhere. He took a look around him, impressed at how nice the place was.

"You know Lily, for someone who couldn't wait to get out in the free world, you don't seem to be enjoying your freedom very much. All work and no play make Lily a very dull girl."

"What?" She looked up at him, her eyes confused, another pencil in her mouth.

"Ok, you clearly need a break." He grabbed her by the elbow, made her get up and lead her to the little kitchenette. "Here, you need time away from that evil computer of yours. I brought coffee and pastries, we are going to have a snack, and talk. You're so going to have to tell me how you got your hands on such a sweet place."

She shook her head, and seemed to really notice him for the first time. Her smile was warmer. "Right, I guess I was up all night. Let me shower and change real quick, I'll be right back."

She disappeared in the bathroom and he got to work in the kitchen. Amazed, he found out that everything was furbished in the pantry, cupboards and drawers. He set some water to boil, got cups and plates out, even found some sugar for the coffee. How did she come by this place?

By the time she emerged from the bathroom, looking more awake and in a fresh set of clothes, the kettle was whistling. She hopped on a stool by the counter and grinned at the sight of him at ease in the kitchen.

"Look at you. You seem perfectly comfortable in a kitchen, who would have known?"

He shook a spoon under her nose. "Now now Missy, be nice or I won't give you your treat."

"Oh, because there's more than the coffee and the croissants?"

He smirked and tossed a small brown paper bag at her. Inside were about half a dozen "Chocolate bars!" She looked at the colorful wrappings almost reverently. "I've never had a chocolate bar before."

Alec handed her a cup of coffee and lifted an eyebrow. "You're kidding right?"

Lily delightfully took a sip of the tasty beverage. "That's so good! No, I'm not kidding. When do you think I would have had the chance for treats? It's not like I was a soldier and had assignments of my own. The only times I was let out of Manticore was with Lydecker or Director Renfro. It's like I'm a kid, discovering everything for the first time. The only difference is, I know **about** stuff, I've just never experienced it for myself. That makes everything weirder and more difficult, in a way."

Alec had another sip of his own cup of coffee before answering. "I guess I never saw it like that. That place was definitely more messed up than I thought. At least for us, it was all about military training, and then being prepped out for Missions. Then we would be sent outside on assignments, but still left on our own to pretend to fit in. I never gave a thought about anyone else, what it must have been like for you guys. But in a way, isn't it even more exciting, getting to experience everything first hand like that?"

"So far it's been scarier than anything else. I haven't even been outside yet. How pathetic is that? When you called me naïve the other day, I guess you had it right. But if I treat this as an operation, give myself a purpose, it'll be easier. Working hard is what I know. You make everything look easy, but not everyone is built that way. Right now, I need to find others, I want to help, but I also have to figure out what Lydecker wants from me."

Alec put his cup back on the counter. "One thing at a time Lily. Your main focus right now should be getting a life, not a mission. You are not responsible for anyone else out there. What you do now is entirely your choice, no one else's."

"What if I choose to use my powers for good?"

He laughed. She had him there. "Well, then I guess you gotta do what you gotta do. But, as willing as I am to help **you** out, do not count on me to start a support group or anything. I don't want to play heroes. I still intend to lay low. Speaking of laying low, you might want to add my number to that cell phone of yours."

"Oh! The cell phone!" She had completely forgotten about the phone. She was supposed to make contact days ago. Lydecker would be furious. She ran to the table and grabbed the device. 16 missed calls. She dialed the secure number he made her memorize a long time ago. He picked up on the first ring. "Are you safe?"

"Yes, sir! I'm in the safe house." She didn't bother walking away from Alec; she knew he would hear her conversation either way.

"Were you followed, is your location secured?"

"I'm fine sir, my location is known to only one ally. Sir, what are my instructions?"

"I'm working on a lead about Renfro. I still want to know who she was working for and what she was doing to my kids. Do you know who Ames White is?"

"Yes sir. A very dangerous man."

"Good. He has been put in charge of "containing" the Manticore situation. You have to be careful and stay out of his radar. Logan and Max can help you. Were you aware of anything special or unusual concerning Max's DNA?"

She hesitated. "Sir, I overheard something right before Renfro gave the order to terminate the facility. She thought Max was the "one" and she was very eager to bring her over to someone important. I didn't get the name."

"Hum. Try to see if Max knows anything about that herself would you? Just make sure to be careful kid, there's a good chance they want you back as much as they want Max. Whether it's Manticore personnel, White's or anyone else who knew about what we did."

"Can I ask you a question sir? Why me? Why would go through so much trouble to make sure I'm safe?"

"Because you're one of mine. It doesn't matter that they took you out of my unit and sent you over to Psyops. You were still one of my kids. So I kept an eye on you and I got you back in the end. In a way, helping you now makes up for the others I wasn't able to help. Besides, I know you still care and you will help me protect the others. Isn't that right, Lily?"

She didn't how to react, she was so confused. "See? Just like the others, you thought I didn't know what you kids called yourselves. I'll be in touch soon. Be careful."

She sat down on the arm of the couch and dropped the phone on a cushion. That was a lot of information to process. Well, she had wanted answers and a purpose. She got one now.

She looked up when Alec snorted. "So, can you tell me why do I always end up with the "trouble girl"? Max back at Manticore, you here….?"

She gave him a blank look, while he tried not to laugh. Then she realized he was making fun of her and she threw a cushion at him.

"Alright. So, what do you want us to do?"

She gave him a suspicious look. "Us? I though you weren't helping?"

"Well, I can't let an innocent little thing like you loose in the streets now can I? Besides, I know where to find Max and Logan and you don't. But" He lifted a finger to keep her from walking to the door. "But, before you go out and try to save the world, you're going to at least take the afternoon off. You need to be able to find your way around this city and know where to find food and whatever else you might need. Deal?"

She got up, went to the safe, grabbed a stack of money and tossed it at him. He widened his eyes at the bills.

"Sure, we got a deal, as long as you're buying." She winked at him, put the cell phone in her back pocket and waited for him at the door.

"Alright then. Let's go."

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><p><strong>A little shorter than usual, but hey, that's 2 chapters this week ;) reviews reviews reviews please :)<strong>


	11. Manners

**Thanks: **As usual thanks for my faithful reviewers, it keeps me going. A Special Thanks to **Midnight Calling**, you review was so very much appreciated, it was so nice of you to take the time to tell me you were reading. And to be your very first review, yay!

**A/N: **For some reason, this chapter and me do not agree. We don't get along. I re-started several times, tried to make it longer or shorter, it just won't listen. Not my best, but it insists on being publish before I can go on with more action. I know where this is going, I got the next 4 chapters all planned out, it will get better.

Please leave me a short review if you are reading, thank you!

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><p><strong>Operation<strong> **F****ortitude**

It had been a pleasant afternoon. Alec had tried his best to help her adapt to being surrounded by so many people. The tougher part was to keep a handle on her emotions. Staying out of people's minds had been second nature for so long, so that it wasn't an issue. But the overflow of emotion was something she hadn't been prepared for. People _felt_ so much and so fiercely, it was fascinating, but also overwhelming. It made her dizzy at first.

So they spent hours walking around different sectors and running errands. They bought whatever fresh food they could get their hands on and she was also able to buy a couple changes of clothes. Although she didn't feel comfortable doing that with Alec, of all people, being there.

She'd been stealing glances his way all afternoon. How comfortable and at ease he seemed to be in every situation, that was truly amazing. They went back to her place, so they could drop their bags off. Alec got what was left of her money out of his pockets and handed it back to her. She waved it off.

"Nah, you keep it Alec, I got plenty more where that came from. Take it as a thank you for taking care of me and helping me out. Besides, you can always use it as a starting bet tonight for your fight."

She searched through the bags to find her leather jacket. There had been a white one she kinda liked, but Alec advised her to stick to dark colors. You never knew when you'd need to blend in he said.

"Lily? No offense there, I know today has been really straining on you and all, but I don't recall telling you anything about fighting tonight."

She got up, the smile of victory from finding her jacket dying on her lips.

"You didn't?" She bit her lower lip when he shook his head. "I'm sorry Alec, I've been trying to focus on you today and I guess I've been channeling you. I didn't mean to."

"Lily, it's no big deal, I just wanted to let you know. I mean, hey, as far as I know, it's the first time you've been in my head, and it was not even intentional. It's not like my plans for tonight are a very private conversation subject anyways."

She swallowed hard, memories flashing back, making her feel guilty. If only he knew how many times she's been in his head. But that was the past, back when she was X5 875 in Psyops, and of course she had been involved in X5 494's re-endoctrinations. Both times. She sighed, ran her hand through her hair and gave him a contrite smile.

"Alright, I could stand here all day and tell you how sorry I am, but giving your plans tonight, and the fact that what we have to do next is not going to be fun, we should get going."

He grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge. "Speaking of not fun, you have to know that Max is very protective of Logan, and once she knows you're there on Lydecker's orders, she might get a little snarky."

She snorted. "What you really mean to say is that Max is over-protective of Logan because he is Eyes-Only, and until she decides to trust me she will stubbornly be a bitch to me. She will probably not even remember me, again. It really doesn't matter why I'm helping them or who sent me, she needs to understand we are all on the same side here."

He winked at her. "As long as you know we're not going to be exactly welcomed, let's go."

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><p>Max was at Logan's trying to get more information on Joshua's whereabouts. There had been a couple more sightings, but still no patterns. She really didn't know what else to do to find him.<p>

"Thanks again for helping Logan. Joshua's so not ready to be out there in the world. I put him there. If something happens, it'd be my fault."

"Don't be so hard on yourself, Max. You put _me_ out in the world, and I'm loving it."

They turned around to see Alec nonchalantly leaning against the doorway of Logan's office.

"Don't you people ever knock?" Logan shook his head, wondering why he even bothered to lock his door in the first place.

"What are you doing here?" Max was really not happy to see Alec. The last time he was here was when she infected Logan and he was there to be Manticore's messenger, after pretending to help her escape. Not good memories.

"Wow, you two sure know how to make a guy feel right at home. I was actually looking for you Max. The fact is, I should be with my own kind. I was wondering if you hooked up with any of the others."

Lily smiled, standing a few feet behind him. Always count on Alec to make an entrance. He was just stalling, knowing she was nervous. She didn't enjoy all the verbal sparing with Max.

"You looking to start a support group?"

"Ah, just bored, really. Ordinary people are so ordinary." He looked over to Logan. "No offense."

"I'll set up a play date later. I'm kind of in the middle of something. Besides, I need to talk to you and it's more important than you being bored."

He shrugged and picked up a magazine on the table next to them.

"Whoa. Isn't this your dog-boy pal ? Looks like he's gotten himself into quite a jam. Guess you're gonna swoop in and save the day, huh?"

"I was thinking about it. He helped me get out, I owe him one."

"Well, you're gonna need a hand."

"She's got two of her own, but thanks Alec. We're already on it." Logan wasn't sure he liked the idea of Max running around in the city with Alec.

"This affects me, too, you know. People catch wind that stuff like this is out there, it's exposure for all of us. Today the tabloids, tomorrow the nightly news. Wait a minute, that's right, I don't really care about any of that. But you know who would be real interested to help? Lily."

Logan and Max exchanged a surprised look. They were going to ask Alec about his friend. It was funny that he brought her up on his own.

"Speaking of your friend Alec, you wouldn't have any idea where to find her?"

Max cut Logan off. "Yes, we would really like to talk to her, seeing that Lydecker is pretty desperate to find her and that we heard that some other people are really interested in putting her back in the cage. What's her deal?"

"Why don't you ask her yourself? She also wanted to meet Logan, seeing as she wants to help him, so I was kind enough to bring her to you. As long as you ladies promise to play nice."

Alec looked behind his shoulder, seeing that Lily was still a few steps behind him.

"Come on little flower, it's not going to be easier if you keep hiding. Let's get this over with."

Max hissed at the sight of her, she couldn't believe that Alec would be stupid enough to bring her **here.** Logan also got up from his chair, alarmed at the sudden tension in the room.

When Lily walked past Alec and nervously smiled at him, he took his first good look at her. Slightly taller than Max, she had dark wavy red hair tied up in a ponytail that brushed her shoulders. She was wearing black jeans, a black top and a dark green leather jacket. Amazingly enough she was wearing black boots with _heels_, now that was a first. He looked up; knowing she would be beautiful. Manticore X series were after all, well, perfect. And Lily was no exception, green eyes, some freckles scattered around and on her nose, the only difference with her, was the warm smile on her face. It went all the way to her eyes, lighting them up. From his past experience with X-5s, that was something unusual. They had wit, sarcasm, they liked to joke around, but genuinely smiling to people they met for the first time was not a reaction he was used to. And that smile of hers was contagious, he couldn't help but smiling back. There was something about her, she didn't look like the dangerous type.

Alec moved next to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "You know Logan, Manticore did make them hot, I'll be the first one to agree here, but that's not a reason to stare."

Max, who had been scowling at Lily, snapped her head back to Logan. Had he been staring?

Lily cleared her throat and moved towards Logan, extending her hand in greeting. Suddenly, Max was standing in front of him, slapping the other girl's hand away. Alec mumbled "Here we go".

"Don't touch him! What do you think you're doing?"

Lily put her hands up, to show Max she didn't mean any harm.

"What I am doing? It's called manners. Do you have some, or you just got an attitude? I came here to offer my help to Logan, I thought real introductions would be better than through the Informant Net, seeing as I already know who he is."

Logan was about to protest, but then he figured that Lydecker had probably told her his secret. Although he didn't like it, the man probably had his reasons, as he always did.

He went around Max to shake Lily's hand.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Logan Cale, as you obviously already know. And you must be 875, the X5 Lydecker was telling me about. I think your name is Lily, right?"

She nodded at him, but turned back to Max. She needed to get the brunette off her back.

"Ok, here's the deal Max, you seem to remember that I am not the enemy, but, I don't believe you're anywhere closer to trusting me. Since I am here to **help **you, I think it'd be a good idea to get this animosity out of the way. Wouldn't you agree? Now, I am going to get my laptop out of my bag, slowly, so you know it's not a weapon or anything."

She got it out of the bag, and moved to put it on Logan's desk. Then she turned back to face them. "Ok, I was going to offer a session of Q&A first, but seeing as Alec has better things to do with his time and that Max should probably be out there looking for her furry friend, we're just going to talk business first."

She quickly turned around to her screen touched a few keys and looked up the info she was looking for. "

Ok, Max, the last break-in alarm was across town in sector six, 542 McAllister. The name's Sandeman. I looked up the other addresses, they're all over town, with all different names, and there is absolutely no pattern that I can see."

She crossed her arms and leaned back, a smug smile on her face. She was waiting for Max to say something, as she could clearly sense that some of that she just told made sense to her. See? She was already helping.

Logan looked over as well. "Max, does that name mean anything to you?"

"Sandeman, Joshua called him Father. I have a feeling he founded Manticore or something. It would make sense that Joshua was looking for him. Renfro mentioned him as well."

Lily widened her eyes, that was probably who Renfro had wanted to bring Max to. It could answer a lot of questions to find this guy.

"Well, if that's true, then why would he turn Joshua away and report him to the cops?"

"That's exactly what I plan on asking him."

Max grabbed her jacket and stared at Alec.

"Why are you looking at me for? I am in no quest to find my long-lost father. So he created Manticore, what am I supposed to do, thank him? No way. I brought Lily here for you, that's it. I got more important things to do with my time."

She turned to Lily, expecting her to follow.

Lily pointed at her feet. "I'd love to use the excuse that I am not wearing the right shoes for this, but the truth is I'll be more useful here with Logan. I am not trained for the field, period. My cup of tea is research. If it makes you feel better, if I coordinate with Logan today, then after that I can stay home all the time and just have contact over the phone and emails."

Max hesitated. "If you think I will leave you alone with him…"

"Think of it this way. Even if you were right and I was still doing Manticore's biding, why would they want Logan dead? They accomplished what they wanted with the virus. They could hold the idea of a cure over your head anytime they wanted. Besides, Manticore burned down, whose orders would I be following? Who would still need to silence Eyes Only? I take point from Lydecker, yes, because he helped me and we both want the same thing, keeping you and the others from White and/or anybody else that want to capture transgenics. Remember the night of the fire? I was letting everyone out. And I was doing so because it had been my plan all along. You on the other hand had never even thought about a rescue plan, you let them out because it was that or letting them all burn alive. I am not a trained killer, I can be left alone with your precious Logan, who has a gun taped under his desk to protect himself."

"Max, just go, I can take care of myself. You need to go find Joshua."

Alec was getting impatient with all the talking. "Yeah Max, Lily can't fight, there's no way she can hurt loverboy. I'm sure everything will be fine. Well either way, I'm out of here."

"Wait, you can at least come to Terminal City with me, then you can go."

"What's a Terminal City?"

She pushed him out the door. "I'll explain on the way." She turned back to Lily. "I warn you, I'm only a phone call away, and you know I'm **fast. **Logan, please be careful. And keep that gun close, just don't let her get her hands on it."

And then they were gone. Lily rolled her eyes and stretched.

"Finally alone Mr. Cale. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to make a phone call, and tell my Commanding Officer we finally captured Eyes Only."

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><p><strong>Couldn't resist a cliffie. I will update before the end of the week, no worries. Please review ;)<strong>


	12. Breaking the ice

**Thanks:** Special Thanks to Midnight Calling, who reviewed last chapter. It was my only review so I was very glad you are still reading :). (I think you're also the same Midnight Calling who favorited my story, THANK YOU.)

To the other 2 who added this story to their alerts, thanks for the interest, it would be super nice of you to also leave me a short review ;) Thanks!

**A/N: **I really didn't think I'd be able to update this week, not with a crazy work week as I've just had, but hey, that's 2 Chapters for this story and another One-Shot fic. I'm amazed.

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><p>Max and Alec were walking down the street, on their way to Terminal City.<p>

"So, what's the deal with this place?"

"Used to be a bunch of biotech labs out there, and then when the Pulse hit, the power went down. A few of them lost containment. Some pretty nasty stuff got out."

"Kinda like you and me, huh?"

"The City couldn't afford to clean up the mess, so they just sealed off the area. Nobody goes out here unless they got nowhere else to go and nothing to lose."

"Well, lucky thing they made us immune to your common bio-warfare agents. Hey, speaking of bio-agents, how's that thingy with you and Logan?" Max gave him a murderous look. "I was just asking."

"Don't. What about Lily? What's the deal with her? She really can't fight?"

"Oh, I'm sure she could, she just didn't get a lot of training in that area. There's no question she could defend herself against any human, but she wouldn't stand the shadow of a chance against you or me. Her training was mental, not physical. And seriously Max, if you want details, just ask her."

"I don't trust her, I don't know her and I don't even think I like her. If she's working for Lydecker, she can only be trouble."

"Come on Maxie. She's only listening to him because they both want the same thing right now and that he helped her. Trust me, she is no evil puppet controlled by Lydecker. You really hate him, don't you?"

"Spent 10 years running from the guy, of course I'm not a fan. Although now I almost trust that he wants to keep us safe. But that's not the point. I want to know what her deal is. What does mental training means?"

"Well it means whatever sick psychological training Psyops had. I don't know the details."

"That lab tech creep we met called her a "reader", said a lot of people wanted her back and that they were willing to pay a lot of money for her."

"I really think you need to put aside your little "I don't trust her so I don't like her" attitude and discuss this with her, but to put it simply, she can read minds. Don't panic, I'm not saying she knows every little detail about us, it's more complicated than that. She **can** read minds, but that doesn't mean she **wants** to or that she even **does**. My turn for questions now; what lab creep and what do they want with Lily?"

"Nothing, he just said that people were looking for her and for me. The usual crap, nothing special. Alright we're here, Welcome to Terminal City!"

Alec looked up to a sign that read: _**"BIOHAZARD - DO NOT ENTER - BY ORDER OF THE CITY OF SEATTLE.**_

"I can already tell this is going to be fun." He grumbled.

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><p>Logan just looked at Lily, trying to slowly get his hand on his gun. He stopped when she let out a crystal laugh.<p>

"I'm so sorry Logan, but you should see your face! I swear, that was a joke. I couldn't resist. Max's questioning got me all tense and I wanted to break the ice. Here, you keep my phone until I leave, if that helps."

Now Logan really didn't know what to make of her. He took her phone and kept it near his gun, out of her reach.

"Again, I'm sorry. Alright, how about I sit down and then you ask me whatever question you can think of? If we're going to work together, I'd really rather you trust me. And to be honest, if you trust me, then it'll get a bit easier with Max for me."

For nearly 2 hours, Logan asked her questions. Could she help with the virus? She didn't think so, unfortunately, but she could try. Did she know where Lydecker was? No. He got really fascinated about her training and what she could do. She had been told that humans would mostly dismiss her abilities, call her a psychic and a fraud. But Logan was genuinely interested and curious. It was great to be able to explain all the nuances, how she could "hear/read" minds yes, but only what he was thinking about right now. And only if she wanted to, that she usually tuned everyone's thoughts out. Feelings and emotions were a different story though, those she would almost physically feel, and there was no way to tune that out. She wasn't really comfortable talking about Psyops though; it was hard for her to explain it.

"All I can tell you was that the other kids, X5s were sent to Psyops as punishment and when they needed to be de-briefed or re-indoctrinated. You know, Paranormal research Division. For me, it was normal, it was what I knew. It was hard, yes, but I didn't know any better. I thought the X5s had it easier, being outside and all together. Turns out, didn't matter if it was mental or physical, torture is still torture and we were just kids. But in a way, for me being an X5 made it all worse, because I longed to be with them, not observe them. You know that they fed us data on all of the X5s? To predict battle behavior and psychological behavior and all that. It's funny how they seemed to forget I was an X5 too, that once, I had been part of that unit and called them family."

"So Manticore made transgenics that can screw with people's heads. Huh. I guess killers weren't enough, they needed spy and psychics as well."

"Yup. Although, I was almost an "accident". They thought I was defective at first, but I turned out to be very useful. But there were others who could do so much more than I can. You got your IT concentrates, Hypnosis, Telepathy, there were even rumors on Telekinesis."

"You almost sound excited about it."

"Well, forget that they try to burn us alive, and look at it from a scientific side, they weren't afraid to experiment, that's for sure. I'm not saying it's a good thing though, but it was certainly different."

"What about Max? If you've been part of her unit, do you consider her your sister or something?"

Lily threw her head back and laughed. "Oh gosh, no. Well, maybe I could describe her as a cousin I've lost contact with or something. I'll tell you a secret Logan, my ability to channel and feel everybody's emotions works against me most of the time. It makes me way too sensitive for my own good. So, with Max, I'm up against her tense defense mechanism and attitude, so all that tension between us, I can never be sure if it's more her or me. We'll have to take it slow, she will get used to me and she will eventually believe that I am not the enemy. And I'll work on my unresolved feelings towards her myself too. Everything will work out in the end."

"That's a very positive attitude, how do you do that? Other X5s I've met were so doom and gloom, so intent on the mission and always being on the move. You're different."

"I'm not a soldier. There lies all the difference. Besides, ever since they escaped, that's all I could ever think about, getting out in the real world too. I've wanted to be free pretty much all my life, might as well make the best I can out of it, otherwise it's just another cage."

Logan looked at his watch and saw that it was getting late. "Wow, time flew by today. How about we get the work out of the way and exchange all the needed information, then we can get back to the conversation?"

"Fine with me." She said as she grabbed her laptop again. "You know what Logan, I really like you. You're… peaceful and focused, I like that a lot. It helps me keep focused too. Alright, let's get to work then."

She grinned at him, happy that she probably made a friend today. She wasn't sure if it was going to make things worse with Max or better. They will have to see. One day at a time.

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><p>After they couldn't find any trace of Joshua in Terminal City, Alec and Max went their separate ways. Alec had a fight to get to, and money, and Max was itching to go make sure Logan was ok. So she made her way back to his place and was incredibly relieved to find him at his usual spot, in front of his computer. She smiled. Sometimes, while she was in the room with him and he didn't know, she could almost pretend everything was back to normal. But it was never for long; she was always reminded that they could never be together now. A simple touch from her would be fatal for him. She sighed and knocked softly on the open door of the office. "Hey."<p>

"Hey yourself." He turned around and he smiled at her, happy to see her, relieved she was OK. "How was Terminal City?"

She shrugged. "Still a mess. Dirty, filled with desperate and crazy people. It's kinda sad actually. But no Joshua. Alec had to go and I didn't feel like going in the sewers tonight. I'll go take another look tomorrow if we don't get any other info. Wanna go to Crash? I could use a drink and OC and the others said they'd be there tonight."

Logan looked back at his computer. "How about we have a glass of wine here instead? I got a lot of work to finish. You can go to Crash without me later."

He got up and went to the kitchen, to find them a bottle of wine. She followed in, keeping her distances, and hopped on the counter. Logan filled 2 glasses and they cheered, being careful not to touch. After a couple sips, he grabbed an envelope full of cash and handed to her.

"What the hell is that?"

"The creep called, says that he analyzed the blood sample you gave him. Thinks he's close to a cure."

She widened her eyes, afraid to believe it. "Are you serious?"

"Yup, he wants you to come by tomorrow."

Max took the money and put it in her jacket pocket. "Whether he comes through or not... I'm kicking in for half of this."

"It's okay." Logan couldn't help smiling over his glass of wine.

"I want this too, you know." She said it so softly and so seriously, he couldn't refuse her.

"Get it to me when you can. We have all the time in the world."

They clank their glasses happy, daring to hope it was true.

"Alright, now, tell me what you found out about Lily, can we really trust her?"

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><p>Alec was sitting in the dirty room that served as a locker room. Annie, the one in charge of the fighters came in, holding a wad of money.<p>

"As promised, Monty Cora, 5,000$ your prize for the win tonight. When can I schedule you again?"

"Ah Annie, you know what? I'm done, this was my last fight." He took the money from her and shoved it in his pockets.

She frowned at him and crossed her arms on her chest. "What do you mean, this is your last fight?"

"I'm done. I'm going to retire undefeated." He took a bottle of water from his locker and gulped it down.

"Retire? They love you out there. We've done twice the business since you showed up. Come on kid, there's a lot of money to be made here, for the both of us."

He smirked. "Look, Annie, as much as I enjoy beating people up, I've got bigger plans for my life. And this is gonna help me get started."

She shook her head, then his hand, defeated. "If you change your mind, you know where to find me."

She left and Alec resumed changing. He was putting his jacket on when he heard someone behind him. Two men in suits were standing behind him.

"What do you guys want? Didn't you hear? I'm retiring. So, I will not be needing an agent."

He was still smiling when he closed the door to his locker. That's when they both tased him at the same time. He fell to the floor, unconscious. A third man wearing a suit came in the room.

"Take him out the back. Make sure no one sees us."

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><p><strong>Please review ;) The next chapter won't be up until I get at least 1 hehe :)<strong>


	13. Catch and release

Taeniaea and Midnight Calling, Thank you so much for the reviews! It is always appreciated.

(My Cpu crashed so there might be a lot of grammar issues, I'll fix it later.)

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><p>After she left Logan's, Lily was very proud to find her way back to her place without getting lost. Granted, it was in the same sector and conveniently close by, but still, it was all new to her. It'd be funny (embarrassing) if any other transgenic heard that she was worried about getting lost. "Always know your surroundings" had been a lesson drilled into every single one of them since their early years.<p>

When she got home, she decided she needed to work harder at being normal. She put away all the purchases of the day, hung the clothes in the closet and fixed herself something to eat. To be allowed to pick what she wanted to eat, when and how much, was a pleasure she would never get tired of. She was drawn back to the window and once again looked down on the people in the street. She just loved to be able to enjoy a few quiet moments.

Then she decided she was going to take a bath. And she was going to take a bubble bath, something she'd never had before but always dreamed of. Earlier today, in the Chinese market, while Alec had been off to the side dealing prices; something about Ginseng, Lily had met a young girl who was selling vitamins and essential oils. She had learned how to mix the oils and the soap herself and she couldn't wait to try it. Of course, there was no guarantee that soap and/or essential oils would be available all the time. But since she had some now, she was going to put it to good use. She got everything ready and within 20 minutes, she was lowering herself into a warm mountain of vanilla scented bubbles. She tied her hair as high as it would go on her head, leaned back against the tub and closed her eyes. Now **this** was freedom…..

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><p>When Alec woke up, he knew something was wrong. His body was hurting all over. He kept his eyes closed, trying to assess if he had any real injuries.<p>

"I know you're awake. The sooner you open your eyes and talk to me, the sooner we can get this over with." A mocking voice said.

Alec then opened his eyes and sat down. He looked around him, he seemed to be in some kind of an abandoned warehouse. Funny thing, he was sitting in a suspended cage. The voice had come from below him. Looking down, he saw a suited man. Alec frowned, he had seen him before. He was the man from the woods, the one with the fake signal. What did Lily said his name was again? White, Ames White. She said he was a very dangerous man, he would need to be very careful.

"That was a very impressive display last night."

"It's so nice to have fans. I can give you my autograph if you want."

"Tell me, 494, have you been in contact with this girl?" He showed him a digital picture of Max. It was a really bad picture. The lie came naturally, so he shook his head. "We know that you were breeding partners back at Manticore."

"It was just a summer fling. I'm not much for monogamy, too many possibilities in the world." He wiggled his eyebrows at White.

"What about any other transgenics? Is one of them a possibility? What about this one?" This time he showed him a very blurry picture of Lily. It was "Office Lily" when she was on duty for Renfro, with the glasses and the business suit. White picked up on his hesitation. "So you have seen her. 494, I believe you might not be completely useless after all."

"Seen her? Yah I've seen her, back at Manticore. Trust me, she looks hot and kinky on the picture and all, but I wouldn't touch her. Between you and me, she scares me."

White was not buying it, he lifted an eyebrow at his prisoner. "Scares you? An almighty perfect transgenic soldier like you? Don't insult my intelligence."

"Come on man, do you know what this girl can do?"

"As a matter of fact, I do. Question is, do you?"

"Torture! I heard she was PsyOps, so that means she was torturing the rest of us, while posing as Director Renfro's assistant. Now that is a scary Lady."

"So, you're telling me you haven't seen any of those, girls, for a lack of a better word, since you got out?"

Alec let out a sigh of relief. He might just have a chance of surviving this encounter after all. "I make it a point not to fraternize with anyone from my past. They slow me down. And it helps me stay alive if I don't socialize with Traitors. So what are you? FBI? NSA?"

"Let's just say that I've been sent to wipe out all evidence that Manticore ever existed, and leave it at that."

6 armed soldiers came in behind him and pointed their guns at Alec. White moved out of the way. "Make sure you take a DNA sample before you dispose of the body."

Shit. So much for surviving this day. "Wait. Killing me isn't going to solve your problem."

"You're right. I have to take out all of them."

"You've got to find them first. I can help."

"Is that a fact?"

"Who better to hunt transgenics than another transgenic?"

"You expect me to believe that you would turn against your own kind?"

"Try me. If hunting down other transgenics means I don't die just yet, then yeah, believe it. I like living."

White nodded at the soldiers behind him and the cage opened under Alec.

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><p><em>Lily was back at Manticore. She was sitting on a bed at night, holding Jace's hand. They were both giggling at some shadows that Ben was making on the wall with his hands. Zane was sitting next to him, trying to pretend he wasn't as amazed as the girls were. Most of the others were looking too, but it was usually the four of them, instigating trouble. <em>

_Then, the image changed and she found herself running in the woods. This was an exercise, a twisted version of hide and seeks. They had a 5 min start and then one of them had to track the others. She was usually very good at this, for some reason, it was easy for her to not be noticed when she wanted to. But this time, Ben found her as soon as she stopped running. He took her by the hand, smiling. He wanted to show her something. Behind a tree, nestled among weeds, was the most beautiful flower she had ever seen. Ben squeezed her hand "It's you, a red Lily." He whispered. How he knew what that flower was called, she would never know. But from that day on, her name was Lily. She turned around and gave him a kiss on the cheek, once again admiring the way his eyes sparkled when he was happy. _

_Then they were all grown-up and standing in a church. Instead of a flower, he was pointing at bloody teeth on an altar. When she turned away from the sight, she was in the woods again. This time, Ben was chasing her. He eventually caught up with her. Just before he snapped her neck, he whispered "Alec". _

And she woke up, splashing water all over the floor, gasping. That had been one very, disturbingly, if not realistic, dream. It was true enough that Jace, Zane, Ben and she had been particularly close, and that Ben had named her for a red flower in the woods, but the rest, that was just horrible. She knew what Ben did; she read the reports, saw pictures, and studied it all. She had been briefed to be ready to work on him when they caught him back and brought him home. They brought him home alright, although it was too late. Someone had snapped his neck. A clean snap, suggesting another transgenic.

She got out of the tub, trying to shake off the uneasy feeling she had. The dream had felt like a warning. She went to the living room and picked up the lonely book on the shelves. She felt safer holding it. The flower in it had been from Alec, but it always reminded her of Ben, and that day in the woods when he named her.

She picked up her phone, and dialed Alec's number. She had to talk to him, if only to re-assure herself that he was fine and that her dream meant nothing. Sometimes dreams were just dreams. She couldn't reach him, but it didn't mean anything, he could still be fighting, or whatever it was he did at night.

She decided to do some more research, maybe she could still help Logan and Max locate Joshua. And she would keep calling Alec until she was able to talk to him. Just to make sure.

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><p>They sat Alec on a chair and pointed their guns at him. White was standing in front of him, a smug smile on his face. Alec could have overpowered them easily, but he thought it was better to pretend to cooperate for now.<p>

Someone standing behind him held his head still and he felt a sharp pain at the back of his neck. "What was that?"

White snickered. "Just a little something to make sure that you don't run off on me, as you were undoubtedly planning to do." He held up something very small between his thumb and forefinger. "Micro explosive" He dropped it on the floor and stepped on it. It mad a faint "Pop" sound. "Not much punch to it, really, but _**enough**_, considering it's lodged against your brain stem. If it goes off, you will never know what hit you. Locate and kill two transgenics, and I'll disarm it."

"How long do I have?" That did complicate things a little bit. He had absolutely no intention of killing anyone.

"The explosive is timed to detonate in exactly twelve hours."

"What? Twelve hours? You can't be serious."

"It's a win-win situation 494. If you come through, and I have two less freaks to worry about. If you don't, well, your head explodes and I don't have to worry about you anymore." He handed the transgenic a watch with a 12 hours counter running down.

Alec took it begrudgingly. How was he ever going to get out of this now? He got up and started slowly walking away, aware that all the guns were still pointed at him.

"Oh, one more thing." White's voice stopped him. "Bring back their barcodes. You know as a Proof of purchase". White laughed at his own joke and tossed him a folding knife. "Happy hunting 494."

Alec didn't linger, he almost ran out of the building. White looked at the man standing next to him. "This could prove to be a very interesting little experiment."

"Do you think he's lying about not knowing the girls sir?"

"Always assume they're lying. You'll live longer."

"We could get lucky. If he brings in 452's barcode, we scrape it for DNA... it could answer a lot of questions."

"Either way... I win."

"What if he kills 875 sir? Our orders are to capture her, alive."

"The freak is a psychic, she can read minds, there is no way a simple-minded X5 ready to turn on his own can ever get close enough to kill her. I wouldn't worry about her, we will find her soon enough."

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><p><strong>Reviews reviews reviews ;)<strong>


	14. Life and Death

**A/N:** Thank you so much to ymy faithful reviewer **Midnight Calling**, I love that you review right away! And also Thank you to **Theta**, new reviewer, I'm happy! Please remember to leave me a note to let me know what you think, I'm getting a lot of hits, so there are people reading ;)

Also, I'm sorry about the delay. A whole week between chapter, not kool. I'll do better from now on. (I got caught up in writing short fics...But I'm back to Lily now.)

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><p>Lily grabbed her phone and dialed Alec again. This time, it didn't go to voicemail right away. She got hopeful he would answer. But no, it just kept on ringing and ringing until the voice mail took over. It didn't make her feel better. It meant something had changed, that his phone had been turned off earlier, but was back in service right now. It meant something, but she wasn't sure what. She would give him 15 more minutes, and then she would call him again. She couldn't get rid of this bad feeling. She needed to make sure he was OK.<p>

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><p>Alec had gone straight to Terminal City. It felt like the safest and most logical place to go. If anyone was tailing him, and right now he couldn't care less if they did so he didn't even check, it would have made sense for him to go hunting transgenics here. He didn't know if it was the anxiety of knowing he was going to die, but everyone looked suspicious. He felt like everyone was looking at him, judging him for even agreeing to do this. But it had just been words. Usually, Alec was good with words. But not this time. This time his words only bought him time. Die now of a possibly quick death, or get an extra 12 hours to hunt down your own, or refuse to do it and have your head blown to pieces.<p>

He kept his eyes down, hands in his pockets, nervously playing with the knife. He couldn't make eye contact with anyone, what if he came face to face with someone from Manticore? He did not want to know if he could overcome the temptation. It was not a risk he was willing to take. He wanted to survive the night, but he wasn't sure what price he was willing to pay.

His phone rang again. He didn't pick up. It was probably Lily. Somehow, it was as if she knew something was wrong, she kept calling over and over again. There was absolutely no way he was getting in touch with her until this was over. He glanced at the watch, in a little over 10 hours. He sighed and hunched his shoulders, trying to ignore the sound of his phone ringing again.

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><p><em>Lily once again found herself standing in the woods, looking at the flower at the foot of the tree. The red lily. Ben was there, holding her hand and smiling at her. This time was different, he was still a kid and she was a couple years older than him. After she picked the flower and he named her Lily, the background changed. <em>

_She was sitting next to Brain, working on a computer program, when someone dropped a book on her desk. She looked up and saw Alec standing before her. __"Here you go Red, book for you. Now, pay up." _

_She got up, leaned over to him, and whispered a secret in his ear. _

_He smiled. "Now that's what I'm talking about. Thanks Red. Oh, before I forget. I found that when I was in the woods for my morning run, and it reminded me of you. Here you go." He handed her a red lily and walked away. _

_She stood there, amazed at the coincidence. She flipped the cover of the book open, which read **Statistics using R with Biological Examples. **The real book under the cover was **Little Women**. She slid the flower in there before anyone could see it, and turned back to Brain, knowing he would have some judgmental opinion about her breaking the rules for a book. Even worse, Fiction. When she turned around, it wasn't her chubby brother sitting next to her, but a 10 year-old version of Ben. __He was sitting there, smiling sadly at her. "You have to help him Lily. He needs you." Before she could ask if he meant Alec, there was a commotion behind her. _

_When she turned, she was in a warehouse, and she could see White supervising a bunch of armed men tazing someone over and over again. When she got closer, she could see it was Alec. She literally saw red. She blurred over to his side, knocking the men out of the way. Her friend was lying on the floor, unconscious. The last thing she heard was White's sick laugh, before she was tazed and fell on top of Alec._

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><p>She gasped and opened her eyes. She'd fallen asleep on the couch. She checked her phone, still no sign from Alec. She glanced around the apartment, just to make sure she was alone. Those weird dreams were starting to freak her out. She was worried about Alec, but she didn't know why. And she didn't know if the dreams meant anything or not.<p>

She got up and stretched, trying to ignore the laptop sitting on the table. She needed to get back to work, she promised Logan she was going to try and find a pattern to Joshua's break-ins. But first, she was going to call Alec again, and maybe see if there was any coffee left. Then she would put her statistics and probability skills to the test.

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><p>Alec was growing very nervous. He had less than 2 hours left to find a solution, or he was a dead man. He couldn't go to Lily, would not go to Max, and calling Logan would automatically involve Max. He was completely screwed. If only he could get Lily to get him in touch with Lydecker, the man would probably know what to do. But there was no way without getting the girl involved, and he wanted to avoid that, as much as possible. He had no illusions, he knew she would know everything next time they saw each other, but he had to get through the next couple of hours first. And then get a handle on his thoughts and emotions, and they would be fine. She didn't need to worry about him.<p>

As he walked past a group of homeless people huddled around a fire, he recognized a face. He tried to keep his head down but it was too late, the other one recognized him as well. A teenager with blond hair got up and shrugged off of a blanket he'd been wrapped in and approached Alec. He was wearing the army pants and gray sweatshirt that was undeniably Manticore's signature.

"Sir! Are we remobilizing?"

Alec cringed when he saw people looking at them, the kid was loud. He shushed the youngster. He would have given anything not to run into him. But he didn't have a choice, and he was running out of time.

"Follow me kid; don't make a big deal out of it." He led him into a narrow alley, away from the street. "Where's the rest of your squad?" He kept his hands in his pockets, trying very hard to keep in control.

"We got separated when the fire broke out. Then I saw the signal…. The one that told us to go to ground."

Alec sighed. "So you're alone?"

"Yes sir!" Smiled the teenager.

Alec closed his eyes, shook his head and made his decision. He was out of time. He looked around, then grabbed the kid from behind, in a chokehold. He waited for him to stop struggling and dropped him to the ground. He turned him over and stared at his barcode. He fiddled with the knife still in his pocket. His cell phone rang again. He knew it was Lily. He groaned. "I'm sorry kid."

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><p>Max was on her way to work, on time for once, when her pager rang. Logan. It would be as fast to go straight to his place as to find a payphone. If she lucked out, he'd have news on Joshua, or food, or both. She turned around and headed to Foggle Towers. She walked in just as Logan was pouring himself a cup of coffee.<p>

"Just what I was dreaming of, a fresh cup of coffee." Logan smiled at her in greeting and handed her, careful not to touch, his own cup while he grabbed another one from the cupboard.

"So, except for the hot beverage, what am I doing here? You paged me."

Logan took a sip of his own before answering. "Well, I got good news. I think I figured it out. Well, to be honest, it was mostly Lily who figured it out." He walked to the printer in his office and removed a sheet of paper. He handed it to Max.

"Joshua? You figured out the addresses?" Max let out a relieved breath. The sooner she could get Joshua to safety and out of the public's eye was better. She needed to get him to lay low, get him to a safe place. If they could finally find him.

"Like I said, Lily came through. She did most of the work. It's going to be really great to have her work for Eyes Only. I cannot wait to put her out in the field with informants. Her skills are going to be really useful, Lydecker was right."

Max snapped her fingers at Logan. "Logan, could we be all excited about Lily being part of the team later? Let's get back to Joshua; we need to find him right now. What's with the paper?"

"Alright, the deal is, Joshua's been looking for Sandeman, it's just that his information is out of date. We ran the addresses we already had against a pre-Pulse directory. Ten years ago, people with the last name Sandeman lived at all those six addresses."

Max nodded. "Joshua must have gotten his hands on an old directory somehow and not realized it's no good anymore."

"He's going through them all one by one, in order."

"Is there any left since the last break-in?"

"The last two at the bottom of the page."

She swallowed the rest of her coffee. "Thank you so much Logan. I'd hug you, but….."

"Maybe in a couple of days. And Max? You should also thank Lily next time you see her, I would not have figured it out if it weren't for her."

"I'll think about it. Later, after I've gotten Joshua to safety."

She went down the elevator and was walking down the street to her bike when Alec suddenly stepped in front of her. She gasped. The idiot actually startled her.

"Alec! You scared me. Don't appear in front of people like that. No offense, but you look like crap. I mean, more than usual."

"We need to talk Max." She started walking again and he fell in beside her.

"Wish I could, but I don't have time right now."

He laughed nervously. "Time. Its funny isn't it. I don't have it; you claim you don't have it. Well, I'm afraid you're gonna have to make time." His fingers closed around the knife in his jacket pocket.

"I don't have to do anything. I told you I'm busy right now. Besides, I'm supposed to be at work."

"Max, it's a matter of life and death. I'm serious."

"So am I. And you're right; it is a life or death situation, Joshua's."

He roughly grabbed her arm. "No Max, it's my life on the line. And you have to help me. I'm sorry, but I'm out of time."

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><p><strong>Remember to review ;) <strong>Oh, Also, remember I _**LOVE**_ Alec, so have faith :)


	15. Out of Time

**A/N: **Again, thank you so much for reviewing **Midnight Calling. **I'm very glad you're enjoying. And your reviews always make me so happy! I tried to make this one a bit longer for you :)

**Please review!**

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><p>Alec kept a hold of Max's arm and dragged her to the side.<p>

"Look, I don't know what your drama is, but I got a lead on Joshua and I'm outta here, now."

"Joshua?" He looked at his watch, just under fifty-nine minutes. He shrugged; Max would not listen to him until she found the transgenic, and so he might as well tag along. He was out of options, he needed Max to help him, and fast. "Fine, I'll go with you. But after that I'm going to need you to listen to me, I really need some help here."

"Sure, let's go."

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><p>Lily had decided to go for a walk, she needed air. Calling Alec's phone over and over again and not getting an answer was driving her crazy. And she didn't want to risk falling asleep and having one of those weird dreams again.<p>

She stopped by a coffee place to grab some tea, and then headed for the library. Alec hadn't been fooled yesterday when he showed her the building and she feigned indifference. She was so excited at the idea of having free time in a real library. Of course, she would do some research, but mainly, she just wanted to be able to read whatever she felt like.

She went in and walked around, until she settled for some heavy psychology books. It was light research, and she had a different perspective now. It was not military, but aimed at "normal" people, it would probably teach her lots. Before she immersed herself in the book, she tried Alec one more time. After she got no answer, again, she decided to call Logan and see how Max did with the info on Joshua.

"Hey Logan, it's Lily. How are you? I'm sorry to call you again, I just wanted to know if you spoke to Max?"

"Hey Lily, yeah I did, I gave her the list and she went right away. I should be hearing back from her later on today. What's up?"

"I was just wondering, have you heard from Alec?"

"Alec?"

"Yeah, you know, smart-ass male transgenic, Alec?"

Logan laughed. "That's not quite how I would have described him, but I knew who you meant, I just don't know why you think I would have heard from him. We're not exactly buddies."

"I was just asking because I haven't been able to reach him since last night. I'm trying not to worry."

"Is everything alright?"

"Oh, yes, everything is fine. It's probably nothing. Alec will call me back when he has time."

"Well, I can take a look and make sure he hasn't been arrested or anything. I'm also going out for lunch later with my contact at the police precinct, I'll ask him. Hey, it might be a good idea to introduce you to him, you have any plans for lunch?"

Lily smiled; she knew Logan would be able to make her feel better. She was getting anxious over nothing. After all, she was still getting used to this new life. She laughed at herself while she picked up her phone, again. Who was she trying to fool? She was worried, and she was going to keep calling until she spoke to Alec. She knew something wasn't right.

* * *

><p>Alec groaned as his phone started ringing again. He should just turn the bloody thing off. He was not going to answer until this situation was dealt with, one way or another. He was starting to wonder if maybe she was in trouble herself, and he was being a jerk not helping her. He shook his head, one problem at a time. Let's make sure he was going to survive the next hour, and then he'd see what was going on with Lily.<p>

He was sitting at the back of Max's ninja, his hands barely touching her waist as he tried to hold on. She had snapped at him so viciously when he first put his arms around her.

"Alec" she yelled over the wind and the purring of the engine. "Are you ever going to answer that phone of yours?"

He rolled his eyes and smiled. "Why would I? When it's the most effective way I've found to annoy you? Where would we be without our affectionate banter?"

"There is nothing affectionate about it. Don't flatter yourself. I don't like you. I'm willing to tolerate small doses of you, for the moment, that's all. And if you're not going to pick it up, why do you even carry it?"

"It's complicated. As you have been oblivious to notice, I'm having a crisis here. So I'll help you find Josh and then you can help me. And after you help me, I'll answer my phone and then everything will be alright."

"Fine. We're almost there anyways."

They pulled over to an empty lot. It looked abandoned and it was filled with rubbles. Max cut the engine of her bike and hopped off.

"This is the right address. Guess they tore the place down. I hope he's here." She noticed someone going through the rubble and smiled. "Joshua!"

Alec was so relieved to see him, finally, now they could get to him. Joshua turned around and recognized Max and walked over to them. Max hugged him as soon as he was within reach. "Hey, big fella." "Hey, little fella."

"Max, Father not here... not anywhere." He shook a piece of paper in his hand.

"Where'd you get that? See, those addresses are old. That means that those people may not live there anymore."

"One more." Joshua stubbornly pointed to the last address on the list.

"Okay. We'll check it out. Come on."

"I hate to be a killjoy, but nobody's going anywhere." Alec stepped in front of Max. Joshua growled at him. "Oh come on Big Boy, I'm glad you're safe and I agree we need to get out somewhere to lay low, but right now, we need to focus on** me**. I need help, **now." **

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><p>When he had finally gotten Max to listen to him and make her understand this was an emergency, she had taken him to the Manticore lab guy they had working on her virus. She hadn't made it easy though, she seemed to think this thing was entirely his fault. He didn't <strong>ask<strong> to be captured. How was he supposed to know a simple bluff to save his life would put him in so much trouble?

The Tech had him sitting down under a light right away, and was examining his neck. Joshua was standing by the door and Max was pacing in front of them, obviously waiting to lecture him some more. Maybe that was even why she had agreed to help, because he now owed her and she could forever bug him about it.

He really did not like having an ex-Manticore person sticking a scalpel in neck, it made him feel incredibly nervous and vulnerable. The creep finally stood up.

"Yeah, thought so. Planted a few myself back in the day. Messy, but very efficient. Mind my asking how you ended up with one of these pop guns attached to your brain stem?"

The confirmation that Alec's story had been true made Max even angrier.

"Because he's a cold-blooded, opportunistic showoff who thought he could run his game on a major bad guy who, it turns out, is an even bigger scumbag than he is! That about covers it?"

The tech shrugged and went over to the sink to wash his hands.

"Yeah, that's pretty much how it happened. Although, you might want to add that I was trying to stay alive, that bad people did this to me. It's not like I wanted any of this to happen."

Max snorted sarcastically, her temper not improving. "Right. Oh, before I forget, thanks _so_ much for not killing me."

Joshua smiled and nodded at Alec. "Me, too."

Alec nodded back at Joshua, glad at least, he, understood. "Well, you know what; it might have gone down better if I was a scumbag. But no, I decided to do the right thing instead, to go against my given orders, which for some of us, is not that simple. I came to you for help, thinking you would understand." He crossed his arms, hoping for the millionth time that he went to Lily instead of Max. Her disappointment versus Max's condescending attitude would have probably been easier to deal with. He had just wanted to keep her out of trouble, away from White. Maybe that was the mistake, thinking he could/should protect her.

The tech came back, interrupting Alec's thoughts.

"I can disarm it. It'll cost you ten grand."

Max rolled her eyes. "Is that the only number you know?"

"It doesn't matter Max, I got it." He gave the creep the five grand he had in his jacket. "I can get you the rest later."

The tech eagerly took the wad of cash and pocketed it. "Wait a minute. No money, no deal. I need it up front. The whole thing. Tick Tock Tick Tock."

Alec couldn't take the games anymore. He jumped out of his chair and pinned the creep to the wall. "You son of a bitch. I have less than five minutes before this explosive detonates my brain. Where the hell am I going to get that kind of cash in the next five minutes, huh?"

Max hesitated. She had the money. It was Logan's money for the virus cure. She could always steal it back tonight on a job or something. It was true Alec's life was at stake. Logan would understand, wouldn't he? Besides, what were a couple more days? She sighed. She didn't even know if Alec was even worth all this trouble, but he was identical to Ben after all, didn't that make him family? She couldn't just stand there and watch him die.

"Wait. You're paying me back." She got the money out while Alec released the tech and sat back down. Max locked her eyes on him, meaning for him to understand how serious this was.

"No problem. Max, Thank you."

The creep stared at the money in Max's hands, almost drooling. "Great. I can leave town tonight."

"What? You can't. You haven't finished _**my**_ job!" She pulled the money back from his reach.

"Have I not mentioned that my life is in danger? And it's only going to get worse after this. What if anyone followed you? What if they know I'm the one who helped? Can't risk it."

"I'll make sure nothing happens to you. Alec too."

"Not good enough. Look, you can have the work that I've done so far. I won't charge you the other half for it either. Take my analysis. You can find some other Manticore geek to help you finish it off."

"Where? Where am I going to find anyone else?"

"Don't know. If they're smart like me, they're probably already on their way out of town. There is too many of you in this stupid city. Maybe one of the other transgenics can help. I don't know. We got a deal? This guy's got like two minutes to live."

Alec gave her a pleading look. He understood what sacrifice she was making, but he still wanted to live. He'd find ways to help her later.

Again, she sighed. "Do it." She handed him the money and went to lean against the wall, where Joshua put his arm around her shoulders. Knowing she was doing the right thing was not helping her feel better. She felt like her heart was breaking, again.

She watched as the tech grabbed a few instruments and went back to Alec, digging in his neck. At least he had to decency to wince.

Alec was staring hard at his watch. Only ten seconds left.

"Time is almost up pal."

"Then you'd better not distract me." He removed the bloody micro explosive and held it in the air. It detonated with a faint "pop" sound. "Congratulations. You're not dead. Yet."

He handed the promised papers to Max, threw a few things in a suitcase, switched his lab coat for a jacket and opened the door. "That's it. I'm out of here. Sayonara."

Alec got up, took a deep breath and rubbed his neck. He threw the watch across the room. He looked at Max.

"I owe you, Max. I know I screwed things..."

Before he could even get the words out, she was standing in front of him, furious.

"Shut up! And listen, 'cause I'm only saying this once. That guy was the last chance for me and Logan. He's gone, and it's your fault. Don't think I'm ever getting over that."

He looked down. Things ended up so worse then he could have possibly imagined. "I know. I'll do my best to help, with anything."

All of her anger just deflated out of her. It was too late anyways. What was done was done. She had traded her future with Logan for Alec. She couldn't deal with any of it right now.

"Just... do me a favor, all right? Go away. I can't even look at you right now. And I need to get Joshua to safety."

He headed for the door, turned around. "I'm really sorry, Max... for everything." Then he left.

She looked at Joshua and took his hand. "Alright big fella, time to go see that last address of yours."

Before they left, her voice broke. "I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up anyway. I just wish I knew what I was gonna tell Logan."

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><p><strong>Please review ;) <strong>

Although I am basically done with this storyline, there is still lots to deal with. I have a few "confrontation" scenes planned up. Hint: one is Lily/Alec and the other one is Lily/Max.

I will be out of town starting tomorrow night, going home for a long weekend and a Bryan Adams concert (!). I do not believe I will be able to post anything for a long week. I'll do my best, but can't promise anything.

Oh, and **Midnight**, your puppy eyes request will be used in the next chapter ;)


	16. Instincts

**A/N: **I'm back! I had a fantastic time visiting my family, thanks for the wishes. So, I promised confrontations, unfortunately, it won't be in this chapter, but the next. (I hve a lot more planned on that front) But don't worry, this chapter is special in it's own way ;)

**Midnight Calling, **thank you so much for your reviews, you make my day every time, and I just want to say, I will totally work with your latest suggestion, you will see in a chapter in the near future.

Everyone else still reading, please take a second to review, it would be much appreciated, thank you :)

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><p>Lily had a wonderful time during lunch. Logan had introduced her to his police contact, Matt Sung, who was a very nice man. She knew Logan wanted her to make sure Matt could be completely trusted, so she listened in a little. Just enough to make sure that Matt was an honest cop and a good hearted man. He wasn't entirely sure he always agreed with Eyes Only, but he trusted and liked Logan, so that was enough for him. And he really thought that Logan worked for Eyes Only, he had no clue who Logan really was. That was enough for Lily as well. Logan's identity was safe, and his friend was trustworthy.<p>

She could almost kid herself and pretend that she didn't think about Alec during her time out. Almost. She didn't call him, not to worry her companions, but she couldn't keep her thoughts clear. Her anxiety was gnawing at her insides. She pushed it away as much as she could and was still able to enjoy herself.

When they were done, Logan drove her home. He mentioned getting together some night this week and have dinner at his place, with Max, Alec, Asha and someone called Cindy, Max's roommate. It was a great idea, and it wasn't like her calendar was full. She would need to find something to fill her time with. Books and computer research would not be enough all the time. But what else was she supposed to do?

She climbed the stairs to her apartment, keys in hand, but stopped in front of the door. Someone was inside already. From the wave of emotion that assaulted her, it wasn't someone stable either. She hesitated, wondering if she should get in. She concentrated, and was able to tell it was another transgenic, most probably X5. Then she recognized the familiar pattern of Alec's. She felt so relieved.

Although it worried her to realize she definitively needed practice; she was so used of staying out of people's heads that she hadn't instantly jumped back to listening in. She should have known right away who was inside her place and what were their intentions. She had been trying to assess the threat by the emotions and feelings. Real threats, military threats, Manticore's, were trained not to have any specific feelings. She could be dead right now for her hesitation and denying her training. That really irritated her. There was a fine line between her instincts and her training, and finding the balance was not always easy. The mistake she just made could have had dire consequences.

She focused her other senses, and could actually hear him pace back and forth in her living-room, and his slightly accelerated heartbeat. He was anxious, scared, frustrated and he was feeling guilty about something. Eyes closed, it was as if she could see the scene in her mind. He stopped pacing, cocked his head towards the door and then walked over and yanked the door open, staring at the tall red-haired girl standing there. Oh, her. She opened her eyes and stared back, startled.

"Are you ever going to come in, or are you just going to stand there all day?"

Her smile died on her lips. She had been so relieved to find him safe. But, even if she could tell something did happen, and that it shook his confidence and hurt him, he was still going to maintain his cocky attitude. She was used to dealing with Alec, she knew never to take him too seriously, but right now, she wasn't sure she had the patience to go through all the layers to get to the point. And she still refused to get the information out of him against his will. At least for now. All she had to do was open up her mind and she would know what was bothering him. But she wouldn't. Not unless he wanted her to or if he really pissed her off.

She huffed and walked past him, slamming the door closed. She put her hands on her hips. "Well thanks for welcoming me home Alec. You might have noticed that I called you, oh I don't know, maybe half a million times."

He smirked and rolled his eyes at her. He just loved it when she saw through his bullshit and called him up on it. Her temper was challenging, it was a shame she usually kept in under control. But that was beside the point right now.

"Calm down Red, I'm sorry I couldn't take your calls. But I'm here now. Did you need anything?"

She frowned. _**Red**_**.** He hadn't called her that in years. After all the weird dreams she'd been having, it couldn't be a coincidence, could it? She sighed. How could she even stay mad at him? He pretended everything was alright but on the inside he was a mess. He had come to her, he obviously needed help or to talk, or something. She wasn't sure if she was supposed to figure out what was going on on her own or wait until he told her.

"Just sit down Alec, I'll make some tea. And I expect you're going to tell me what's going on? Remember, I'll know if you're lying or withdrawing important information. Do not make me find out by myself."

He chuckled as he took off his jacket and sat on the couch, making sure she saw him put his feet up on the coffee table. She frowned at him, obviously giving him the reaction he had been hoping to trigger. "At least take off your boots if you're going to do that."

They remained silent for a few minutes. Alec was going over the events of the past few days, trying to figure out what and how to tell her while she was in the kitchen making tea. He was remembering the kid in the alley when the sound of broken glass drew him to the kitchen.

"Lily, are you Ok?" He was by her side in an instant. She had dropped a cup and sliced her palm when trying to pick up the pieces. She was holding her hand, still kneeling and silently staring at him. He crouched and made the motion to grab her hand, intending to look at the wound and clean it, but she moved away from him. Standing up, she took a step back. He looked up and saw her eyes were opened wide, staring at him, almost tearing up.

"Alec, what did you do?" She whispered, still looking down at him. He sighed and broke eye contact with her. He should have known she would know. It was one thing to trust her not to listen in, but if he was reminiscing, he had to assume she would hear some of it. Especially, if it was something he was upset about, emotions were always easily projected.

He slowly got up and threw the broken pieces of porcelain in the sink and leaned against the counter. He picked up a dish towel and handed it to her. He watched her wrap it around her hand, winced when she grimaced. Then he crossed his arms, on the defensive. She raised a finger at him, motioning she wanted to go first.

"I didn't mean to hear or see anything. Even when I realized there was someone inside my apartment I didn't go inside your head. Especially after I recognized you. I stay out of people's minds. My instincts ahve changed. I knew you were distressed, but I was going to wait for you to confide in me. I probably got distracted or you just projected really clearly, I don't know for sure, but I'm sorry. But now you need to explain something to me, I only saw a glimpse or two, I understand something bad happened and I'm doing everything I can not to give in and take the entire story from you, but what happened to the kid?"

He still wasn't looking at her, he was staring slightly to her left, and giving the illusion he was looking in her general direction. She knew better, but she didn't want to push him too much. Whatever was wrong, it wasn't easy for him to talk about it.

"First of all, I didn't kill that kid, I could've, probably should've, but I didn't. I just got him out of way, not to be tempted and to keep him away from me, to keep him safe. As for the rest, let me tell you everything. It started last night, after my fight, when I got cornered and tazered by these men, White's men."

Lily gasped. She hadn't expected White to be hot on their tails, not so fast, not before she could contact Lydecker again.

"Alec, if you don't want to tell me, there's a faster way you know." She could feel his hesitation, it was palpable.

He nodded. "I'm not proud of how things ended today. I'd rather not talk about it, but in a way, you need to know. I tried to keep you out of it as much as I could, and I failed. Go ahead, jump in."

Lily ignored the pang of hurt she felt about his comment to "keep her out of it" and moved to put her hands on his face. She took a deep breath and when she looked up; his eyes were locked on her. He didn't seem scared or ashamed anymore, he felt strangely relaxed. That allowed her to relax as well.

For a moment, it threw her off balance to be face to face, so close to him. She felt her heartbeat accelerating and a blush crept up her cheeks, warming her.

She swallowed hard. "Do you trust me?"

He shrugged, trying to downplay his state of mind. Of course, with her touching him, he couldn't lie without her knowing it. He wasn't sure he could keep anything hidden from her even if he wanted. In any case, his complete honesty was the best way to deal with this. He nodded. "I trust you."

She smiled at him, unable to take her eyes off him. His eyes were mesmerizing her. She hadn't been prepared to feel so, **attracted** to him. Something she had no control over was pulling at her. She wanted something. She wasn't sure where her need started and where his ended. Her heart was skipping beats and then it was as if both their hearts decided to keep the same tempo.

Alec felt it too. He didn't question it, but he certainly didn't understand it, had never felt anything like it before. He slowly raised his hand, grabbed at a strand of red hair, and twirled it around his fingers.

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><p><em>Would you believe my own heart was beating faster after this? Hehe. Alright, the next chapter is almost ready to be published, but I will ask for 2 reviews before it is posted. (Technically that means 1, since I know <strong>Midnight <strong>will review.)_

_Hope you liked it! :)_


	17. Low

**A/N: **So, that will teach me to ask for reviews. I got them right away, thank so much **Midnight Calling **and **Silently Tearful**. And I couldn't deliver my chapter as promised over the weekend. I'm sorry. 2 words to explain why: Food poisoning. Not fun. I'll do better this week.

This is a filler chapter, some stuff needed to be set in motion before I could indulge in the Alec/Lily connection/chemistry. But have no fear, the good stuff is coming, I'm already halfway through, if work permits, it'll be added tonight, or tomorrow.

Thank you for reading, and thank you for reviewing and letting me know you are still reading, even if just once in a while ;)

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><p><strong>Fortitude<strong>**:**** strength of mind that enables a person to encounter danger or bear pain or adversity with courage.**

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><p>Max and Joshua made their way to the last address on their list. It was at the dead-end of a street. The house looked like it has been abandoned for years. Max grabbed Joshua's hand and they went around to the back door. After this, she would need to explain that it wasn't safe for him to walk around in daylight, that people would be afraid of him, and that it would be dangerous.<p>

They entered the house, the door wasn't locked, and it was barely still standing. They ended up it a very large study. There were still several bookshelves by the walls and the floor was covered by papers and books. Joshua picked up a book and hugged it to his chest, looking content. "This is Father's house."

Max frowned, whoever used to live here had obviously left in a hurry, a very long time ago. "Are you sure?"

Joshua showed her the book he was holding "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer". "His books, I remember." He kept looking around him, as if his father was going to walk in any minute. He spotted a cane lying on the floor next to a dusty sofa and showed it to Max. The top of the cane was carved into the same mystical beast shape as the Manticore logo.

She nodded at him. "You might be right, this is the Manticore logo alright." She pointed to the green jacket he was wearing, with the same logo on the chest. "See?"

He brushed her pointing finger aside, shook his head vigorously, his long shaggy hair flying around. "No, Father's. Not Manticore. Father's."

She took the cane to see for herself. The symbol was a bit different indeed, but not by much. She had actually seen this before. She vaguely remembered a man a picking her up back in Manticore, when she was very young. He was hugging her and telling her how special she was. It didn't make any sense. She had met Sandeman before? More importantly, Sandeman thought she was special? She had had enough with Renfro and other Manticore psychos telling her she was special but never providing any fact as to why. She was going to help Joshua find this "Father" of his, and then she was going to make him tell her what the hell was going on.

She handed the cane back to Joshua, who was not so patiently waiting for her attention to be back on him. "Max. Little fella. Max. Father not here."

"No. It looks like he hasn't been in a long time. I'm sorry Josh; I know that wasn't the plan."

He shrugged and put the cane on a table crawling with dusty books. "Joshua and Father. That's the plan."

"Max, Joshua and Father, that's the plan. You want to find him, I'll help you. I have a lot of questions for this guy. He left a lot of stuff behind, we'll need to go through it all, and maybe he left some clue to his whereabouts. If we fix this place up a little bit, we can make it into a decent hideout for you."

Joshua smiled at her, still looking around the living-room/study. "Max, Joshua and Father. You'll see, Father will help you. Just like that men helped Alec today."

"You really think Sandeman can cure this virus thing?"

Joshua laughed and held her in a bone-crushing hug. "He made us little fella. He'll make you better. And that's what you tell Logan…. To have hopes up."

She smiled at him, this innocent, child-like friend of hers. "Ok."

They walked around the house, making sure no it was truly empty. There would be a lot of cleaning and repairs to be done, but manual labor was always a good way to clear your head. She told Joshua to get some sleep that she would watch over him for a while. She would wait until it was fully dark outside before going back to her place. She'd come back here early morning, and bring him food and other stuff.

They hadn't found Sandeman, but the truly important thing was that Joshua was safe. The stupid tabloids would soon find something else interesting to gossip about, they would forget the dog-man who broke into a few homes. From now on, he would lay low and Max was going to have his back and take care of him.

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><p>White was in a command center, their operation was always moving, to keep the element of surprise, when his assistant, Otto told him they had captured someone of interest. That got his attention. Maybe finally some good news. After 494 failed to bring back any barcodes, he could use some success.<p>

"What is it Otto? X5? X6? Some kind of freak-creature again?"

"Human, sir. Manticore personnel, he was working in one of the labs."

"What could so important about this one to make you think I care? You know what to do with him."

"Sir, he says he has some information on 452. He also says he has seen 494, today, both of them."

White smiled. "Really? Well, this might end up not being a complete waste of my time after all."

He left instructions with his team not to disturb him and followed Otto, he wanted to talk to this one. He made his way to a private room where they kept their "guests" before they transferred them to a new facility. The ones worth transferring anyways, not many made it out alive, for one reason or another. He'd have to see in which category this one would fall into.

He walked into the room and pursed his lips in distaste. He recognized the mess that was huddled in a corner of the room. Engel. A mediocre, insignificant lab worker. He had made himself somewhat known within Manticore for his part in the, missed, rehabilitation of 599 and later on for bragging about being the one who created the virus meant to kill Eyes Only. As far as White was concerned, Engel should not have lived to fail a second time. He very much doubted that this pathetic slime would have any information for him.

Engel got up when he heard the door open. He smiled in relief. "Ames! I should have known you were the one running this operation. I want to put a complaint in, your men have been very unnecessarily brutal with me. Are you here to give me my job back? Send me to a new facility?"

White laughed, while moving disgustingly away from Engel. The man had been sweating profusely and had been bleeding from a broken nose and a rather nasty cut on his bottom lip.

"Engel. Any chance you had of getting your job back, or any kind of job for that matter, was destroyed when you ran. You know what kind of measures our organization uses on traitors."

"But Ames! It was such confusion that night, that week even. It was everyone for themselves if you wanted to survive. I kept a low profile afterwards because I did not know who to trust."

"And when my men caught you today, were you not on your way out of town, possibly out of the country? You were carrying a lot of money for a guy who kept a low profile."

Engel seemed to realize his excuses were not going to save him anything.

"I admit it, I used my skills to earn that money, I wanted out of Seattle before more of those freaks found me. I was afraid for my life. Can't you understand that Ames… I mean, Mr White?"

"Oh I understand alright, but that doesn't mean it excuses anything. Now, quit wasting my time, and tell me what "valuable" information you have for me, and we'll see about transferring you. My man told me you have been in contact with some X5s?"

He held up the same pictures he showed to 494 before, the ones of 452, 875 and now 494 as well. "You've seen any of them?"

"Yes. 452 came to me a while back, she knew exactly where I was and who I was. Lydecker put her or her friend up to it, that's for sure. She wanted me to find a cure for the virus we created for her. Guess she missed not being able to suck faces with that journalist guy. I was making progress on it too, she was good for the money I asked. But earlier today she barged in with that one, the pretty boy, and they only had a few minutes left before his brain exploded. I made them pay ten big ones for me to remove it. I guess that was your work huh? Oh, they also had a dog with them too."

White frowned. "So 494 is alive? And he came to see you with 452? You're absolutely sure?" He didn't care about any dog, not journalists, he only wanted 452, and now 494 as well.

"Yes, she was mad too, she kept yelling at him. But when she first came to see me, I also asked her about 875, but she knew nothing about her. I was hoping I could turn her in, but that didn't work. As for 452, she is too scary and she has a nasty temper, I didn't dare try anything."

"Anything else that might interest me?"

Engel shook his head, still terrified he was not going to make it out alive. "That's all I know, I swear. Am I going to get transferred or are you going to let me disappear?"

White walked up to him, trying not to wrinkle his nose at the smell emanating from the other man. He usually liked the smell of fear, but this one really stunk. He put his hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry Engel, there is nothing else Manticore wants from you. We will indeed let you disappear. We are not unreasonable."

Before the creep could do more than just smile in relief, White swiftly put his hands on the side of his face and twisted. He grinned when the weakling's neck snapped. That sound alone just made up for the time he had wasted talking to him. He let go of the, now dead, annoying man and was heading for the door even before the body hit the floor.

He left the door open behind them. "Otto, send a team in to clean this up. It appears 494 is alive, still in town with 452. I told you to always assume they were lying. "

Otto took notes. "I'll take care of it sir. Anything else?"

White loosened his tie. "Not for today. Now, I'm going to go home and make it in time for dinner with my family. My son will be really excited. Tomorrow, we are going to double up the surveillance in this city, and we are going to find these damn freaks, and anyone else who is helping them."

"Yes sir."

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><p><strong>Please don't forget to review ;)<strong>


	18. Connected

**A/N: **Again, thanks to **Midnight Calling** for the review, and yes, I killed him just for you hehe. Thanks to everyone else who is also reading, I know there has to be some of you out there.

If any of you is interested, I have also just started a new serie, from the Vampire Diaries world called: **The Witch and the Vampire Chronicles**. I quite like it, but I promise not to put this story here aside for it. I will make myself always publish a chapter of **Fortitude,** before I work on the **Chronicles.** I will remain faithful.

Don't forget to review if you're reading, only takes 2 seconds ;)

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><p><strong>Fortitude<strong>**:**** strength of mind that enables a person to encounter danger or bear pain or adversity with courage.**

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><p><em>She was so mad at herself. How could she have been <strong>so <strong>stupid? Making a spectacle of herself, all for money. And getting caught. So soon after tasting of freedom. At least she had been able to talk her way through the worse of it. She was still alive, but she had to find help or she wouldn't be alive for long. Her cell phone was ringing but she didn't want to answer it. It wasn't clear why, but she knew it had to do with protecting someone, keeping them out of harm's way. Good. That was the good thing to do. She found herself faced with another, a young one, drawing attention to them. Can't have that. Cannot see any others, too dangerous. Have to do the right thing. She had to put him down, it was safer for everyone that way. Remove the temptation. She laid the youngster down after he was unconscious. She was going to feel guilty about that one for a long time. She realized this was a memory because of the time. The passing time seemed to be crucial, but in minutes she was losing hours. Maybe it was another one of those dreams, not a memory. She had to find Max, she didn't want to, but she didn't have a choice, she was the only one that could help. She was running out of time. _

_When she found her, it was hours later and she was fighting a growing panic. She stepped in front of the other girl and startled her. "Alec! You scared me."_

_Lily was so surprised that she didn't follow the rest of the conversation. She understood what was going on now. It wasn't a dream and not a memory, at least not hers, this was Alec's. This was what happened today. But for some strange reason, it was happening to **her** as if she was Alec. She would usually just get the facts, some emotions and in rare cases a few images, when the subjects were not fighting her or projecting very clearly, but never anything like this. She felt the events exactly as if it happened to her. Some details were fuzzy, like why Alec wouldn't answer his phone, but she didn't push it, she figured it was probably him trying to keep a few things to himself. He trusted her with his thoughts, she was not going to lose control. But this was beyond anything she ever experienced._

_She was terrified, annoyed, anxious, mad and worried, because Alec had been, but she was also proud of him and enchanted at the discovery of what their minds could do while connected. She was right there with him being annoyed at Max for her lecturing and unwillingness to acknowledge the urgency of the situation. But her heart also broke for him, when he understood that in order to save his life, Max would have to give up the only chance at a cure she and Logan had. He would never show it, but he knew right away that Max would never forgive him, that things would never be right between them because of it. And it pained him, more than he would ever dare to admit._

_She had always suspected there was more to Alec than he let on, but she had had no idea of how deep he actually was. This was truly amazing, especially with the type of life they lived, how he was raised to repress and deny his individuality and be nothing but a weapon, a soldier._

_When she saw herself, cradling her sliced palm and felt the hurt in Alec when he thought she was judging him or would turn her back on him, she forced herself out, she wouldn't pry any longer. He had shared what he went through today, now they could talk about it and see what to do next._

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><p>Lydecker hung up his phone, frowning. This was bad. One of his contacts had just called to let him know that White's team had caught up with Engel on his way out of town. Technically, it was his fault, since he sent Logan to him, as a favor. Apparently, Engel had talked and told White that 452 was indeed in Seattle and that another X5, 494 was in contact with her. He didn't know much about 494, except that he was 493's clone, without the psychosis.<p>

White didn't know her location for sure, but they were looking for Lily, they had their doubts she might be here. They knew she made it out of the facility the night of the fire and they wanted her back. He had to go and make sure she was covering her tracks and keeping a low profile. She could probably give him an update on 452, Max, and 494 at the same time.

He called her phone, no answer. While that didn't necessarily mean that something was wrong, he still felt uneasy. Today was not a good day for phones to go unanswered, who knew what White was up to? He started his car, determined to make sure nothing had happened to her. He would go to her place directly.

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><p><em>Alec had no idea what was happening. One minute he was feeling incredibly attracted to Lily, and then he was back at Manticore. And he was a kid? Something was definitely wrong. He was sitting on a bunk, at night, watching another kid making shadows on the wall. This had to be a dream or something. He had relaxed and let Lily access his memories of today, to ease up the process of reliving it all. But when she put her hands on his face, something had pulled at him. It almost felt like he <strong>clicked<strong> with her, like puzzle pieces. And that was just weird. He had felt like drowning in her eyes, even their heartbeats and breathing had synchronized. He'd even been about to…**kiss her?**_

_He shook his head. No, no, no. It was just a feeling. He hadn't been about to kiss anyone. They just had a moment and it took them both by surprise, that's all._

_He had no idea what happened then and he had no idea what was going on now. He turned around, meaning to ask the kids what the hell they were doing. He stopped, his mouth hanging open. The kid sitting on the floor, grinning and amusing the others, was **him.** But wait, it couldn't be him, he was right here, wasn't he? It had to be 493, Ben. But that wasn't possible either; they had never met, even though they were clones. He held his hands in front of his face, puzzled. They weren't his. Those were girl's hands._

_He understood when giggles escaped his mouth. Not his. Lily's. She had this unmistakable silvery quality to her laugh. Somehow, this was one of her memory. He was pretty sure she had never intended to share with him, but since she was probably strolling through his mind at the moment, he could sit back and observe here. No harm done in paying attention, the events were unfolding without any need from him, almost like watching a movie. This was fascinating, if not disconcerting._

_He felt her heart fluttering when Ben first gave her a red Lily in the woods, and declared it was now her name. Then he saw himself through her eyes, years later, when he first got her a book, giving her the same flower, calling her "Red". The coincidence with the flower was more than eerie, it was almost scary. It really unsettled him to think he might have had more in common with his clone/twin than he thought. But when he found himself sneaking into the morgue at night and unveiling his own face, that was more than he could stand. The Lily in the memory kissed his, no **Ben's**, forehead and started crying, but he just wanted out. He had seen enough. He didn't want to watch her fall to her knees and sob at the loss of someone she obviously cared deeply about. Did not want to feel her pain. Especially did not want to allow himself to feel anything._

_He closed his eyes, and tried to separate himself from Lily's mind. He focused on his fingers twirling a lock of her hair, on the warmth of her hands on his cheeks and the smoothness of her skin against his._

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><p>And just like that, he was able to open his eyes and come back to reality. It didn't even surprise him that she opened her eyes at the exact same time. They were in perfect harmony, if only for this moment. He couldn't help lifting his other hand and resting it on the side of her face and she smiled when she lightly leaned into the touch. Their foreheads were touching, their breaths still mingling.<p>

"Alright, well, let's say this was a very interesting experience. If we had known, back at Manticore, that this part of Psyops, was like that, we would have been less scared for sure."

She cleared her throat. "Alec, it has never been like this. I've been able to get in people's heads, to get the truth, facts or anything else I was asked to, but I've never experienced it with them before. This was a whole new level. We connected, truly and fully. I never thought something like that was possible. I have always found that I could "hear" you better than anyone else and that blocking out your thoughts and emotions has been hard these past few days, but I had no idea." She was amazed and scared at the same time.

"I have to give you a lot more credit than I thought. Experiencing someone else's memories like that, it can't be easy."

She frowned, let her hands fall on his shoulders and moved her head back. "What do you mean? I just told you, it was the first time something like that happened. How would you know how it felt?"

"I saw **Ben**, Lily. I was able to see him through your eyes. How he made you laugh and gave you hope when you were kids, even how he gave you your name, with that flower in the woods. I also saw him at the morgue, I was with you there, and I shared your sorrow to see him…"

"Stop it!" Her eyes were wide and rapidly filling with tears. "I don't know how you were able to access those memories, but I'd rather not talk about it just yet, Ok? Something pretty incredible just happened between us, I don't know how to explain it, but I need time to make sense of it." He nodded, and pulled on her hair absent-mindedly. "As for what happened to you today, I am so very sorry, I wish I could've helped you through it. It hurts a little that you didn't come to me for help, but I understand. And Alec, I am **so** very proud of you for the way you handled White, you **never **intended to obey him, you were trying to find a way to survive. I'm so glad you're Ok, that you were able to come back to me."

She leaned up and softly kissed his cheek. She didn't know what made her do that, it just felt right.

It took Alec by surprise as well, but it felt natural, as if she was **supposed** to kiss him. He opened his mouth to thank her, but the sound of the door being slammed closed behind her distracted him. His first reaction was to hug her close to him and then he looked up, to see a man standing in the living room, with a gun pointed at his head. He didn't think, didn't take a minute to ask questions, he growled and just lunged at the intruder.

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><p><strong>Please review!<strong>


	19. Understanding

**A/N: **Thanks to **Midnight Calling**, for the nice review, as usual. It really motivates me. I know more of you are reading, glad you're still with me.

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><p>Admittedly, they had been completely caught up in their own little moment there. Who would have expected someone to break into apartment at that same exact moment? In a way, she couldn't really blame Alec for overreacting. He was a soldier; he was supposed to react this way. She understood it, but she didn't have to like it. And she didn't, not one bit.<p>

She barely had the time to turn around that Alec had the intruder pinned to the wall. One quick look and she had the situation assessed. She sighed. She moved to pick up the gun on the floor and told Alec to let the man go. He didn't seem to hear her.

"Alec, I said let him go, its ok." Again, he ignored her, watching the man struggle for breath. That was a side of Alec she didn't want to see. She was exasperated and really didn't want to deal with a testosterone show-off right now. Focusing her anger on Alec, she **pushed.** "Alec, I said, let him **go**." He lost his footing in his surprise and stumbled against the wall himself. Having lost his grip on his opponent, he fell to the ground, coughing.

She took a deep breath, not wanting to lose control again. Besides, this had pretty much exhausted her.

Alec turned around, cussed and glared at her. "Did you just push me?"

She grinned. "I didn't touch you, I didn't move from this spot. I only yelled at you because you wouldn't listen to me."

"You know exactly what I meant. You not touching me doesn't mean you didn't push me Lily."

She shrugged him off and helped Lydecker to the couch. "I'm sorry about that sir, but maybe you should knock next time? Some people are more nervous than others. Barging in on transgenics? You asked for it." She winked at Alec, not at all angry anymore. He mouthed back to her "sir?"

"I guess I should introduce you Neanderthals. Alec, this is Colonel Lydecker, sir, this is my friend, Alec." It seemed like she was the last one in Seattle with manners, really. She handed Lydecker his gun, which he tucked back in his holster.

Alec crossed his arms and smirked at them. "Lydecker, huh? I thought you'd be… taller."

She bit her lower lip, trying to keep a straight face. Of course Alec would not take this seriously. Lydecker looked from one to the other. "Alright, you look exactly like Ben; I take it your designation is 494?"

"My name is Alec."

Lydecker looked back at Lily, who sighed and nodded. "I see. And you say you two are friends?" He sounded pleased. She nodded again. "That's very good! Putting aside the fact that I'm very disappointed I could startle you, Lillian, I came here to make sure you were OK. I've heard White has been pretty active in the sector lately, he apparently got his hands on a few transgenics, even had an old tech killed. Know anything about that?"

She glanced at Alec, who was still not talking, and rolled her eyes. "Sir, White captured Alec yesterday, but he managed to escape, as you can tell because he is right here. It's a long and complicated story; we were still in the middle of it when you showed up. But we are both OK, and our location is still safe. There is a good chance that White believes Alec dead, but we are still going to be cautious."

Lydecker knew better than to ask for the full story. All he needed to know was that she was safe. She had too much knowledge and they absolutely did not want White and his team to find that out. She was more valuable than anyone knew. But she was safe, and if 494, no, Alec, was going to help keep her that way, the better. He relaxed and noticed that Alec was still leaning on the wall opposite the couch, his eyes on him. Not missing a beat, a sharp young man. He didn't know whether to approve of this attitude or to be irritated by it. He shook his head. He didn't even know this kid, and still, he seemed to share the same distrust towards him that the rest of the X5 did. Unbelievable. He probably had a lot in common with his twin; he would have loved to study him. But that was all in the past. Now, it was all about helping these kids stay alive and keeping Lily, and Max, from falling into the wrong hands.

"Anything else to report?"

"Not really sir, I have been settling in, making contact, familiarizing myself with the city and the network, just like you asked."

He got up. "I guess I should go then. I shouldn't be seen around here. If you find out anything about White, you let me know."

When the door closed behind him, Alec chuckled. He moved away from the wall, no longer on alert, his body relaxing. "So that was the almighty Lydecker that Max hates so much? He doesn't seem so scary. What's with him and calling you Lillian though?"

She didn't bother answering him, she faced him and, quick as flash, pinned him back against the wall. He frowned at her. "Lily, what the hell?"

"Alec, you listen to me, and you listen to me very **carefully.** I would not care to have this conversation again. I am not made of porcelain. I have basically the same genetic coding as you do. I appreciate that you are being a gentleman and want to protect me and all, but you gotta understand I am no delicate little flower that will wither if someone blows on it. I am lacking the intense military training, not the skills, nor the strength."

To make sure he understood, and for good measure, she pushed him back against the wall, hard. He rolled his eyes and stopped fighting back. She let go of him. They both knew that in a real fight, he would still overpower her, but he still needed to know she had strength.

"Fine, fine, I get it. I was taken by surprise when Lydecker showed up and I let my instincts take over. Maybe I do feel like I have to protect you, but I'll remember from now on, that you're strong, **for a girl**."

He winked and she laughed, thinking that maybe he understood what she had been trying to say. She had felt hurt he didn't come to her for help yesterday, because he didn't want her involved. He was trying to protect her, but it still hurt. And that whole display with Lydecker, shoving her behind him, it had been a little much. He needed to think of her as an equal, or as close to it as was possible.

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><p>Max was sitting on top of the Space Needle, staring off in the distance. She loved it up here, it was the best place, next to a hot bath, to think. It was peaceful and quiet. To truly appreciate it, you had to pay no mind to the ever-present drizzle that came with Seattle. Max was one of few who actually liked the rainy weather; it usually helped her go unnoticed.<p>

Sometimes she wondered why she didn't hate this place. After all, she had seen the end of two brothers here. First, Seth, when he decided to plunge to his end rather than let Lydecker take him back. And this was also where she faced off with Ben, when something went horribly wrong and he started killing people. And he died too. Maybe it was the reason she liked it so much up here. Did she feel closer to her family here? She didn't think so, but it could be a valid theory. She shrugged; she was not going to dwell on this, not now.

She had so much more she needed to think about. She knew she had been bit a tad too bitchy towards Alec, but it was just so _easy_ to blame him for everything. He was usually partly to blame anyways. The last chance, the only chance, for her and Logan to cure this virus fled town, because of him. Ok, that wasn't exactly fair. It wasn't his fault; it was just a very sad turn of events. Life was a bitch, there was no denying that. She would never admit it out loud, but if she could choose again, she still would have picked to save his life. Never again did she want to feel responsible for one of her sibling's death. And Alec, for all his flaws and how much he annoyed her, was part of her family.

Now that she wasn't so irritated with Alec, she could see that it would be nice to have him around. Maybe she wouldn't feel so lonely. And he could help her round up the others too. In the light of all that understanding, she felt like she probably hadn't been very fair to Lily as well. She wasn't sure why. She decided she would give the redhead a chance, there's no way she could be worse than Alec. Besides, Logan seemed to trust her, and she was family as well. She would need time to get to know her, but she could probably lower her defenses, just a bit. So far, the girl had proven useful, and somewhat trustworthy. It was more than she could say about Alec.

She still didn't know what to tell Logan about the creep leaving town though. She also needed to come up with a way to give him back his, wasted, money. She'd keep an eye open and see what job she could come with to make fast money.

She yawned and stretched, she could probably use an hour or so of sleep. She would have to get up early and go see Joshua in the morning. They still needed to have that talk about him staying out of sight and he would need some food too.

She drove her bike back home and was very surprised when she ran into someone, just as they were getting out of her apartment. The two women stared at each other. "Lily? What the hell do you think you're doing?"

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><p><strong>Please review if you are still reading! Thanks!<strong>


	20. Cocktail

**Sorry it took me forever to update, work has been incredibly crazy. Thanks to Graygirl for the nice review, and thanks to everyone else who is still reading :)**

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><p>Lily mentally kicked herself when she opened the door and saw Max standing there. She had been too anxious, and scared, to pay attention. She hadn't heard her coming. Now she was going to have a lot of explaining to do, and that she totally could have done without.<p>

"Hi Max, I'm sorry I startled you. I came by to give you something, and since you weren't here, I thought I'd just leave it inside. I didn't touch anything, I just wanted to make things right."

Max frowned and pushed her bike inside the living-room, quickly looking around; making sure nothing was out of place. It seemed undisturbed. "You know, I was all convinced to try and be nicer to you, to give you a chance, but breaking in my place is really not the way to get on my good side. You hear me?"

"Max, I know. Trust me, I do. I really want things to be OK between us. We might never really be like family, and that's a shame, but we can at least be friends. I should never have entered without your permission, but there was no one inside and the door was open. Look on the table, I really did drop something off for you, and it doesn't even bite."

She stayed closed to the door, sensing that she wasn't welcomed in just yet, and she was trying to stay alert, in case the brunette decided to jump her. Max was so unpredictable sometimes, and that temper of hers really didn't help either.

Max grabbed the envelope on the table and looked inside. She froze. She slowly looked back to the redhead awkwardly standing by the door. "What the hell is this?"

Lily shook her head. "Money."

"I'm not an idiot, I can see it's money. What is that for?"

She shrugged. "I know you probably do not want to talk about it, least of all with me, but this is what saving Alec's life cost you. Ten grand."

Max kept looking at her, puzzled. Too many questions needed to be asked here. But did she really want to get into it, right now? She rubbed her forehead, feeling a migraine forming and waved the girl in. Might as well sit down and talk it out.

Lily smiled, incredibly relieved. She could tell Max was very conflicted towards her still, but at least she was willing to listen to her. She got another smaller package from her jacket, prompting a smile from Max. "Is that real coffee?" She nodded and mentally thanked Logan for mentioning Max's love for fresh brewed coffee the other day.

Max busied herself with the preparation of the beverage, keeping the counter between her and Lily, avoiding eye-contact, trying to come up with what to say. But then she remembered that the girl could read her thoughts, there was no hiding anything from her. Her temper flared again and then she met Lily's eyes, and was stopped by the sadness in them, staring right back at her.

"Let me explain something Max, because I can feel you are very confused, not to mention frustrated as well, and that I would love it for you to trust me. I don't read people's thoughts. I can, but I don't. I feel your emotions, that I can't help, it just assaults me all the time no matter what, but it doesn't mean I have to comment on it or pry into it. As for your head, you're safe, unless it's a very clear image and I pick it up by accident, I don't go looking or listening in. I would know if you're lying, but even then, I wouldn't go looking for the truth. I respect people's privacy and to be honest, not having to spend most of my time extracting information's from people's minds is pretty great."

Max smirked. "That sounds like a nice little speech to tell me to chill out." Lily grinned back. "Well, basically, yeah." She grabbed the warm cup of coffee Max handed her. "Thanks. So, another thing I gotta make clear. Alec doesn't know about the money, and I would like it to stay that way. Wait, listen, that request comes with a peace offering, of sorts. The tech that was helping you is dead. White caught him and then killed him, for one reason or another. It's up to you what you tell Logan about what happened and why he couldn't finish your job, but in the end, he is still going to be dead, no matter what. And you can give Logan his entire money back. The rest is completely up to you."

"Why would you do that?"

Lily knew she meant more than just handing out money. She tried to explain. "Well, first of all, I have a lot, and I mean a **lot**, of funds. Manticore money wired all around the world, for years, by Lydecker. So I can afford it, so to speak. But honestly, there are a lot of reasons. It gave me the chance to sit down with you and talk; I think we were pretty much overdue on that. Also, if I can help, even a little, and mend the rift between you and Alec, that's even better. It broke my heart when I felt how horrible he was feeling and I could only guess how mad at him you would be."

Max cocked an eyebrow at Lily. Really? Alec, feeling guilty for his actions? Most of all talking about it with someone else? "Why is it so important to you that everyone is happy and gets along? And why do you care about protecting Alec so much? What's between you guys?"

"We're friends. Max, I just got out of Manticore, I'm on my own for the first time ever. This world, freedom is intimidating. You have had years of practice, not I. Alec is all I have. We weren't really friends back at Manticore, but we knew each other, and since I haven't found my brother and sister yet, that makes him my family. Maybe one day, when you trust me, I'll be able to say we're family too. But in a way, I want us to stick together as much as possible. Especially since I'll be helping Logan a lot, wouldn't it be best if we all got along?"

"You're so different. It's like Manticore didn't break you, and you spent your whole life there. I don't understand how you do it. Your humanity and individuality are intact. It doesn't make sense, that place was a prison, how did you do it?"

This was the side of Max that Lily had been waiting to see. She smiled. "It might sound weird to you, but it's mainly been you and your brothers and sister and Lydecker, that have kept me hoping. Hoping for something better, hoping to have everyone together again, one day, outside Manticore. But don't get me wrong, I was mad at you for a really long time for escaping that night. I was mad because we were left behind, like we didn't mattered. It got bad for us. In a way, I was spared, because I was in Psyops and they sometimes seemed to forget that I belonged to that unit as well, originally. I nearly gave up when they took Jace from me, when they finally got to her and she changed. But whenever they would capture one of you guys and try to re-indoctrinate them, that's when I was able to see, to keep believing. Zach was so fierce in his desire to keep the rest of you safe, Bryn just wanted a simple life to call her own and Tynga wanted her family. And you Max, most of all, you won't admit it, and we will never talk of it again, but even more than anyone else, you wanted a normal life. You want to be a normal girl, have a family, the old and the new, and you care **so** much. You did want revenge on Manticore, just like the rest of us, just like Ben and Seth, but in order to achieve that, you exposed the organization and freed the rest of us. I'd like to thank you for that, and I'll even stop having resentment for being left behind, so many years ago."

At first, Max didn't say anything. She was just looking at Lily, absorbing her words. Hearing her talk about Zach and everyone else tugged at her heart. "Is it hard to watch everybody you know and care for, and have them not remembered you?" She didn't mean to ask that, it was probably private. But to her, it was intriguing, since she spent most of her time wanting to be unnoticed, blending in.

"More than you can ever imagine. I know it's coded into my DNA and that it comes in handy sometimes, but I can't help feeling like it's robbed me of so much. Look at how long it took you to finally look at me, for me, and remember me. Although, we're still a long way from you remembering me as a kid, but hey, I'll take what I can get. I've seen a lot of people who've had it worse than me, so I can't really complain. It makes me hold on more to the people who do see me."

"I don't know if you knew, what happened to Jace?" Lily sadly shook her head. Max smiled at her. "Well, she's alright. I helped her across the Mexican border; she and her baby are fine. You've seen the ones that were re-captured or killed or turned bad, but there is a few of us still out here, living the dream. Well, maybe not a dream, but we're free and now, we're not running so much anymore. Whenever things get rough, I try to think about them."

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><p>The next morning, Joshua woke up alone in Sandeman's house. He sniffed the air and followed his nose. He sniffed and barked his way to Max's building. When he reached her door, that's where the scent stopped, he whined and howled, waiting for her to show up. When the door opened, he just walked in, still sniffing the air.<p>

Original Cindy, in a bathrobe, had been expected a dog at the door, not… not Joshua. She jumped back, surprised. "Ooh! Max!"

"Joshua?" "Max" Happily cried Joshua when he saw his lil fella walk in. "Joshua, how'd you get here?" He smiled and pointed at his nose. Of course. "Did anyone see you?" He shrugged and walked next to Cindy, sniffing at the pot of oatmeal she was tending to. "Original Cindy, it's okay, this is Joshua, he's a friend."

The black woman braced herself then extended her hand to Joshua. "Yeah, sure. You just took me by surprise back there, I wasn't scared. I'm original Cindy, good to meet you. I'm making breakfast. You hungry?"

After Josh had a few bites of oatmeal, making a show of showing off his good manners and using a spoon, Max got herself a cup of coffee.

"I was gonna come by and bring you some stuff, Josh."

"Time to find Father."

OC looked from Josh to Max. "Father? Who's Father?"

"Sandman. He made us. He's gonna make Max better."

"You mean your love bug thing where you can't touch Logan?" Max nodded sadly. "Well, get on it, boo! I'm tired of seeing you moping. This virus bitch has gotta go down so that you can get busy with your man."

Max smiled, but didn't say anything; she pretended to be focused on her coffee.

Joshua grinned, revealing a mouthful of oatmeal. "Max and Logan, getting busy. That's the plan."

"The plan is we're gonna find Father. Logan's tracking down some leads and Lily will help too. In the meantime, you've gotta lay low. You can't be walking around out there."

He chuckled, watching OC. "Don't mope. I'm on it."

Max rolled her eyes while OC offered him more food. He sniffed the air while she was filling his bowl. "Lil fella, I smell dog, dog in the cocktail. Not Max, Max has cat in her cocktail. Alec smells like cat too, but different."

She raised her eyebrows. "You smell dog? Oh maybe you mean Lily then, she was here last night. Listen Joshua, I have to go to work, would it be ok if I call her and ask you to get you home? I'll have her bring you some food too."

After Josh nodded and OC gave a her a "who's Lily" look, Max picked up the phone and dialed the number Lily gave her last night. "Hey, it's Max can you do me a favor?"

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><p><strong>If you're still reading, thanks!<strong>


	21. Giddy

_Thank you so much to everyone still reading, even though I have been really bad at updating lately. A special thanks to **Shane C **and **Graygirl** for their constant support, go read their DA stories, they are amazing. Also big thanks to **Victoriam Speramus** (Also go read her story!) and **Taeniaea **for the nice reviews. :)_

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><p>After Josh nodded and OC gave a her a "who's Lily" look, Max picked up the phone and dialed the number Lily gave her last night. "Hey, it's Max, can you do me a favor?"<p>

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><p>When Max called, Lily was at the computer, pretending to work. Pretending, because she couldn't get anything done. Her mind kept wandering back to yesterday. The connection with Alec was puzzling her. She didn't really like that he'd been in her mind, but it was only fair, since she had been in his. And the incredible attraction she'd felt for him, it had been scary. As a teenager, she's always had a thing for Alec; he awakened her, in a way. But she'd thought she'd overcome that. It was unsettling to feel this vulnerable.<p>

Talking to Max brought a very welcome distraction, not mentioning the fact that her calling was a big deal. It was a fresh start. Maybe, if they took it slowly, Lily could let go completely of all the unresolved feelings she had towards Max. If the brunette was willing to give her a chance, she had to as well.

She showered and changed, then headed towards Max's place. She crossed Chinatown, waving and smiling at the vendors as usual, but everyone seemed very tense. She asked a few people what was going on and found out that a young man died today. It was very sudden, no apparent cause except bleeding and then it was over. It had shaken the community. She gave her sympathies to the informer and then continued on her way, frowning. This was definitely something she would have to check later. But first, Max's mission.

Somehow, by the time she got to Max's door, her concerns about the death in Chinatown were gone. She felt happy, in an excited kind of way. She felt… giddy. She knocked on the door, a very big smile on her lips.

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><p>While Max was in the shower, Original Cindy stayed with Joshua in the kitchen. And that meant watching him eat, and trying to teach him manners about it. When there was a knock on the door, she went to open, Max warned her someone named Lily would come and pick up Joshua, so they could both go to work.<p>

She got the door opened and someone practically shoved a hand under her nose. "Hi there, I'm Lily." She looked up and saw a _very _attractive young lady standing there, smiling. Damn, what a morning. Original Cindy straightened up and smirked. "Well, well, well, please tell me here you're here for some sugar, shugga." And she winked.

Lily looked at her, still smiling. "Oh no, you have me confused with someone else, Max called me, I'm the err, babysitter?"

OC laughed and Joshua lifted his head from his food, sniffing the air. "Well, if you change your mind about the sugar, you just say the word; Original Cindy would definitively like a piece of that."

Lily stepped in and then understanding lit her face. "Oh. You're flirting with me. What a compliment, how flattering, thank you. You are pretty stunning yourself." She located Max, leaning against the wall, an amused look on her face.

"Hey girl, you make it sound like no one's ever flirted with you before. No one ever tried to get in your pants back in Manticore?"

Lily giggled and OC rolled her eyes. "Ah, well, that explains why she's so pretty. I'm telling you, that place, they sure knew how to make blood boils." She fist-bumped Lily. "Nice to meet you girl, if you're Max's sister that means you're family, and Original Cindy's got your back."

Joshua looked over his shoulder at Max. "It's ok little fella, Lily like me, lots of dog in her cocktail."

"Ok big fella. I have to get to work, and Lily will get you home and get you some food as well. You understand you can't walk around during the day, right?"

He looked down. "People afraid of what they don't understand."

"That's right. Now Lily, do you need money?"

Lily shook her head, she had plenty. "It's going to be ok Max; I'll get him home safely. If people don't take special notice of me, they won't even know I was there."

"Now hold on just a minute girl. If you want no one to notice you, you gotta cover that booty of yours." OC grabbed a sweater and threw it at Lily. "I know you people like to keep on the low side, so cover up and everything will be aright."

Lily winked back at OC and pulled the sweater over her head. "Alright then, are we ready? Come on big guy, let's roll." When Josh grabbed her hand, it was like a jolt of happiness, pure excitement and energy. It made her smile again. She could feel a layer of sadness as well but it was so easy to get lost in the happiness. As they made their way down the stairs, she couldn't help bouncing a little bit. Everything about today seemed exciting.

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><p>Before heading to work Max stopped by Logan's, she wanted to drop in Sandeman's cane and see if he had any lead on the man. As soon as she got there, she realized it was a bad idea. Her patience was running short this morning and Logan seemed to be in one of his stubborn moods. He kept getting too close to her and getting this hurt-annoyed look when she'd move away. It wasn't fair that he was making her feel guilty for trying not to infect him. She was not rejecting him; she was trying to keep him alive.<p>

It was one of those days, where it seemed like they were looking for the easy way out, looking for a fight. She sighed; patience had never been her strong suit. She got the cane out of her bag and handed it to Logan. He looked at the plastic around it and raised an eyebrow at her. She shrugged. "What, I thought maybe we could check for prints, or DNA."

"I don't know Max. After ten years?"

She grabbed the cane back and threw it on the table in frustration. "It's worth a shot Logan. We got nothing else."

"Ok, ok, I'll call Matt; see if he can get the police lab to do it. We're going to find him Max. And we are going to beat this. I know we will."

"I just want things to be the way they were. You know, when we could hold hands without you keeling over on me."

He smiled and then they heard the door open, Logan walked in the living room. "Asha"

Max rolled her eyes. She didn't know the petite blonde well, but she knew one thing for sure, she didn't like her. She was entirely too comfortable around Logan for her liking. But, she had to admit, she did good work for eyes-only. Asha just lashed out at Logan, not noticing Max.

"I just got this close to getting busted at a check-point. They were taking forever with my papers; I could tell something was wrong... So I just got the hell out of there."

"That was a smart move. Listen Asha..."

"All I wanted to do was go home and take a bath. Now, I gotta get my hands on a whole new fake ID."

"Well, I could probably help you with that, but not now…"

Asha sat down on the couch and took off her shoes. "Also, we have to talk about this Manticore thing. I'm really glad your friend Max and her furry little friends got out of there but it's really…"

Max didn't give her time to finish that thought; she stepped in the room and stood next to Logan, arms crossed on her chest. Asha straightened up on the couch and had the decency to blush.

"Oh. Hi, Max. What I meant to say is that, we, my group, the S1W…"

Max waved her hand at her. "Yeah, yeah, the government's trying to say Manticore was just a VA hospital and you guys burned it down. Sorry… from me and my little furry friends."

Asha suddenly grew very interested in her shoes and Logan took a step towards Max, obviously wanting to say something.

"I gotta go to work. Let me know if Matt finds anything."

She left in a hurry and unlocked her bike, mocking Asha. "All I want to do is take a bath. Well, all I want to do is drown her in one."

She shook her head. She didn't have time to be petty. Asha and she didn't have to like each other, heck; they didn't really have to work together. And she wouldn't kill Logan by touching him, so maybe it was all for the best. But then why was she so irritated?

She didn't pay attention to the traffic, rolling down the streets. She usually didn't. This time, she never saw the car until it hit her and she flew off her bike, landing hard on her back, knocking the wind out of her.

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><p>It had been easier than she thought. Although Joshua didn't quite agree in hiding, he still did as he was told. They walked back to his home without anyone looking twice at them. Of course, her abilities slightly helped. And on the selfish side, it had been nice to hold his hand the whole time. It made her happy and not so lonely. Joshua's mind was so uncomplicated on the surface, it was very refreshing and relaxing to her, not to fight to keep to herself.<p>

She felt a very close bound to him, maybe, like he said it was because of her "cocktail", but she also plain liked him. She felt happy with him, and didn't want to go back and work or follow orders and get in trouble. She just wanted to stay here with him and read books. That was another thing they had in common, a great love for books.

What made it so natural to be comfortable with him was that he seemed to feel the same way. He took to her immediately as well. She had to fight urges like curling up in front of the fireplace or running around the house chasing rodents, but they managed to act somewhat normal. She helped him inventory the house; see what work needed to be done, what supplies and food he would need. She liked the idea of having to take care of someone, she was good at that. Since Max was always on the run, on her bike or for Eyes-only, that was one thing Lily could do, make sure Joshua, or any other transgenic they found, wouldn't need for anything. The thought made her happy, it was as if she a new mission, no, a new purpose for her new life. She grabbed Joshua's hands and danced around the dusty living room with him, laughing.

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><p>Asha was digging around in Logan's fridge; he always had the best stuff, while he was finishing up a phone call.<p>

"Well, I'm glad you two got along so famously then. Listen Lily, you don't really have to… Ok, no, that's perfect, I'll wait for you. Thank you so much."

He hung up the phone and turned back to Asha.

"Sorry about that, a friend of mine will stop by and pick up a package for me later."

"Listen Logan, I'm really sorry about…"

"Forget about it, I know you didn't mean anything by it."

"How can I forget about it? I put my foot so far down my mouth, I got teeth marks on my knee." Logan smiled and the image. "She must hate me."

"Really Asha, forget about it. Eat something and I'll go see what I can do for your ID."

She stayed silent for a few minutes, making a sandwich.

"I don't know the whole deal about Manticore, but I can tell you family stuff is always complicated."

Logan looked up from his computer. "And the Max and I and the virus situation is complicated too."

"This has got to be the understatement of the century."

Logan laughed bitterly, then got up and joined her at the counter, grabbing half her sandwich.

"Max and I danced around each other for almost a year. Juts when we finally figure out what's going between us, this virus thing happened. If it's right, if it's meant to be, why does it have to be so hard?"

Asha turned to face him, looking up. She fiddled with the collar of his shirt, getting closer. "I don't know if it's meant to be Logan, all I know is that I want you to be happy. Any girl would be lucky to be with you."

Logan thought this over and looked back at Asha, who seemed to be waiting for something. But then someone cleared their throat. "Hum hum, I sure hope I'm not interrupting anything?"

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><p><em>Oh, a chapter whithout Alec? I didn't think that was possible...I'll have to make sure next chapter has extra Alec then hehe<em>

**Please review ;)**


	22. Gone with the Wind

**_I am so sorry, it feels like I haven't updated in fore-ver! Work has been incredibly insane, I've barely had a minute to myself these past few weeks. (I haven't abandoned you for another story, I just haven't been writing at all...) _**

**_Thanks sooo much if you are still reading, and thank you to Shadowmoondancer for your nice constructive review :)_**

**_I will do my very best to update as soon as possible..._**

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><p>Asha let go of Logan's shirt and looked over his shoulder at the woman standing behind him. She had never seen her before, but she had to assume this was Lily, one of Logan's associates. The redhead was glaring at her in such a cold way, and it strangely reminded her of Max. She shuddered and let go of Logan's shirt, taking a step back.<p>

Logan turned around and smiled. "Hey Lily, I wasn't expecting you so early."

She flicked her eyes to him. "I can see that." She sounded so disappointed in him, his smile faltered.

Asha grabbed her jacket, Lily's eyes trailing her every movement. "I should go." She headed for the door, staying clear of the other woman. As she opened the door Logan called her back. "Asha, wait, you don't have ID." She shrugged and left.

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><p>Max groaned and took a deep breath. Like getting hit by a car was going to improve her day. She heard footsteps and someone loomed over her, but she was still too dizzy to really care. It had been a nasty fall, she was allowed a few seconds to rest. A man knelt over her, touching her cheeks, shoulders and arms.<p>

"What the hell? Don't touch me freak!"

"Lie still, Max."

"I'm not going to lie still, let go of me, I'm fine." She looked at the figure over her, and recognized him. "Rafer?"

He nodded but continued touching her. "Hey Max. Stay still, you went down pretty hard."

"Don't tell me you're the one who hit me?"

"Sorry. But you did come out of nowhere." He tried to slide his hand under her shirt and she sat down, slapping his hand away.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Oh relax, would you? I'm a paramedic."

"No way! You deliver pizzas."

He rolled his eyes. "That was just part-time. We spent one night together four months ago and you think you know everything about me? Now try and lie still. I want to make sure you don't have anything broken."

Exasperated at his attempt to slide his hand under her shirt again, she flipped him over on his back and followed to sit on top of him.

"I said I was fine! Next time you wanna cop a feel, hit me harder to make sure I'm out cold."

She got up and pushed past the crowd of people watching the scene. "Get out of the way, nothing to see. No damage, just a scratch."

Rafer watched her go, unsure if he should be amused or irritated. This girl was such a mystery.

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><p>Lily didn't stay long at Logan's. Truth be told, she knew she had overreacted when she saw him with Asha. It was absolutely none of her business. But she felt like she had experienced first-hand how fiercely Max loved him, that the sight of him with another woman had awakened some instincts in her, some feelings. She'd felt like getting her claws out and defending her territory, or a pack member's territory. Sister's? It was all very confusing. She had been rude, and she would have to apologize later.<p>

She could blame her reaction on the emotional crash from not being in Joshua's presence. She had been so happy and energetic all day being with him, that leaving him and then stepping in the middle of a tensed situation got her wires crossed, in a way. She'd have to work on that, as she planned to see Joshua a lot. She couldn't go around and snap at people every time she left her friend. That wouldn't be good at all.

She liked the idea of helping other transgenics lay low or get on with their life or trying to "pass". She could definitely see herself occupy her time like that. She would have to give some thought into that.

She made it to the Police station, and asked to see Detective Sung. She was pointed off to his desk and walked into the area to see him lead a very agitated man away. She could hear the guy argue.

"biochemist. Do you understand? I'm a scientist. Now I'm sure you have a great team of scientists working at the precinct, but..."

She rolled her eyes, studying the man being led away. It was amazing how many people would brag to be something they were not.

Matt turned around, saw her and raised an eyebrow at the fact a beautiful woman had walked in the detective's area and no one had moved a muscle. No smartass comments, no whistles, no one even looked up from their desks. It was as if no one had noticed.

Lily felt his puzzlement and made a point to click her heels really hard on the floor when she took a step towards him, making a few people look up in her direction. There! People noticed she was in the room, Mat wouldn't be suspicious.

She smiled and handed him the cane, still wrapped in plastic. She was very intrigued by it as well; she hoped it would lead to something concrete. It would be nice to have answers.

"Here you go Detective Sung, you're very own personal messenger service."

He smiled back. "If only they were all as nice as you. I'm telling you, some of them are real punks."

She smirked, having a clear image of Max mouthing off to some angry customer.

"I'll get it to the lab. Tell Logan I'll give him the results as soon as I can, but not to hold his breath. We're pretty busy around here."

She nodded. "I heard about the strange death in Chinatown, I'm sure Logan will understand."

Matt frowned and lowered his voice. "How did you hear? We're trying to keep this under wrap; did Logan's boss put you guys on the case? Not that I wouldn't appreciate the help but…"

She cut him off. "No, I love to walk around Chinatown, I do a lot of my errands there and I've became friendly with the vendors. Meixiu was upset this morning and she told me when I asked her what happened."

He stared at her. "Meixiu, the herbs and oils stand?" She nodded. "Lily, Meixiu doesn't speak English."

She shrugged. "So? I speak Chinese, hence the reason why I like Chinatown so much."

"You? You speak Chinese?"

"Yeah. Why is that surprising? I do have many skills, but I specialize in languages."

She had no idea where that lie came from. She was indeed fluent in 11 languages, but it wasn't her specialty at all.

Matt relaxed. "It does make sense, if you're working with Logan; he used to be a journalist after all." He looked around to make sure no one was eavesdropping. "I shouldn't be telling you this, but rumor's flying about a strange guy in an overcoat, whom might have something to do with this. I've got a sketch artist working on the details. Let me know if you hear anything, sometimes people are more opened with customers than with the police."

She promised to keep in touch and then she left. She had more errands to run, and she wanted to stop by Joshua's.

Several hours later, Lily finally came back to her place. She happily kicked off her shoes; she loved wearing heels, but if she was going to spend her days walking all around town like today, she might need to start wearing more sensible shoes soon. But then again, she probably wouldn't always have to walk so much.

She fixed herself something to eat and smirked at the box of cigars sitting on the counter. That was something she picked up from Joshua by accident. He hadn't told her, because Max said to lay low, but he'd had a visitor today. Someone Lily knew too. She hadn't told the big guy she knew, she still felt intrusive when she overheard private thoughts. But when she left his house, she had bought a box of cigars. He would understand that she knew, when she'd hand them to him.

She sat down in front of her laptop and hesitated. She looked around her. All she ever did was work, was it really all she was good for? Wasn't living a normal more important? Wasn't it what she wanted? She contemplated putting her shoes back on and go for a walk; find people, go for a drink, something. But then a beeping sound from her computer stopped her. She checked the screen, and there was an instant message. She frowned, she wasn't connected to anything, not yet, and she hadn't touched the computer, except to turn it on. Could be Logan, he wasn't half bad of a hacker for an ordinary.

**- Don't.**

She raised an eyebrow.

**- Don't what?**

**- Don't go outside tonight; if you do there is an 87% chance that something bad will happen to you.**

She held her breath; this wasn't Logan. She only knew one person who spoke like that. Could it be?

**- Are you ok little brother?**

**- Of course I'm ok, I knew the dangers in Seattle so I stayed away and that's why you should also get out.**

She sighed.

**-You know I can't do that, not now.**

**- I know. You are exactly where you're supposed to be, doing exactly what you're supposed to do.**

She smiled; it was good to hear that someone agreed she was doing the right thing. Although, with Brain, it was never about right or wrong, but what they were supposed to be doing, what statistically made sense.

**- I've been worried about you.**

**- If you're careful in the next few days, there's a 92% possibility we will meet again.**

**- Any chances you'll tell me where you are?**

**- Our survival depends on anonymity. Just watch your back, you're a target. Oh, and you know better than to try to trace me, right?**

She snorted. Brain always had a way to be so surgical about everything, to show no emotion, but it also made him sound cocky, always had. For a tactical genius, he was lacking certain communication skills. The message window closed, as it had never been there in the first place. She could ask Logan to check, but she was sure Brain covered his tracks. It was nice that he kept tabs on her, but she wished she'd know where he was. Well, if she kept working hard around the city, maybe she'd be able to set up a decent network soon enough, and find out where everyone scattered.

It did make her wonder, why she came straight to Seattle. She knew trouble was here, knew about Max, Eyes-Only , Lydecker and White. Running in the other direction would have been as easy, and the results would have been better. Not all of America was as crippled and poor and criminalized as Seattle was. Not many would consciously choose to live here, when they could be so much better off somewhere else.

She shook her head; she had made a commitment, she was staying here. It wouldn't serve anything to start doubting or wondering about "what Ifs". She leaned back over the computer and after checking her emails and different sources, she hacked her way into that website she liked, The National Film Preservation Foundation. It had been badly hit by the pulse, but somehow the archives still had a decent selection of pre-pulse movies, even from the early 1900's. She tucked her feet under her, grabbed a candy bar and immersed herself in the dramas of someone else, a certain Scarlett O'Hara.

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><p><em>Thank you for reading :) I'll try to update soon!<em>


	23. Roundhouse

_**Thank you so much to everyone who is still reading, even though my updates are not so regular. I'm leaving for a vacation in Europe in less than 2 weeks, so I can't really promise many more updates for maybe the next month. But I will get better at one point, I promise.**_

_**A big thanks to my reviewers, I love feedback and you help me keep this story alive :)**_

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><p>Max was sitting in the common area at Jam Pony, trying to straighten back the wheel of her bike. She had missed on several runs yesterday, as Norman refused to let her use one of the loaners. He could be such a jerk sometime, complaining that she was slacking off, but unwilling to help her. She threw another angry look at him, which he kept ignoring, pretending to be working on some paper work.<p>

She looked past Norman and frowned when she saw Rafer coming in. He was wearing a Paramedic uniform and carrying a couple of brown paper bags. He came over to her and smiled. "Hey."

Max was still frowning, annoyed. "Okay, you _are_ a paramedic. So what? You showed up to try to make me feel bad for not believing you?"

His eyes clouded, insulted. "No, I came by to see if you wanted to have lunch. It's my way of making up for our, uh, little run-in."

He sat down next to her, and unpacked the food, sandwiches and cans of soda. Max looked at the table.

"I'm not really hungry."

He shrugged. "It's ok. I wanted to talk to you. About that night..."

"I'd really rather just forget about that."

"Me too actually. I was in a really weird place, you know, just broke up with my girlfriend…Anyways, if I came on too strong, I'm sorry, because I'm not like that."

Max looked up at him, and felt that he really meant it. Part of her wanted to say the same thing, but she was too ashamed of that night. Couldn't bear to think about it, to remember what the cost had been for slipping. She replied softly, deciding to stop blaming him, letting go of her anger. "It's okay."

"I came by here looking for you a couple of times, but no one knew where you were."

"I had to deal with family stuff. It's complicated."

"I thought maybe you had a boyfriend somewhere." His voice rose, clearly intending this to be a question.

"Well, that's complicated too…"

* * *

><p>Lily had already been to the market, ran a lot of errands and drop some stuff back at Joshua's place and it was barely time for lunch. She would have to go back and help him out with the actual cleaning, but for now she just left him with all the stuff, and the cigars, figuring that if anyone was watching the house, they would be more likely to visit while she wasn't there.<p>

She still had a lot of things she wanted to do today, but she thought she could maybe take a lunch break with Max. After all, if they were to tolerate each other, become friends even, they had to start hanging out, without Logan or Joshua. Drawn once again to Chinatown, she figured she could pick up some food there and surprise her at Jam Pony. She looked up at the sound of some firecrackers and smiled; she just loved how lively Chinatown was.

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><p>Original Cindy and Sketchy had to stop in Chinatown to make a delivery. OC was impatient; she was hungry and had no time to waste while Sketchy was being curious about the mutant rumors, <strong>again. <strong>He was talking, well, listening in to some vendor's gossip about mutants. Finally, after a few more angry glances his way, he came back over to where she was waiting.

"You know, it's worse than I thought, O.C." He didn't seem worried, he was grinning.

"What's going on now?"

"The mutant infestation. It's here in Chinatown as well. Eyes-Only said it, and these nice people confirmed it."

She rolled her eyes. "Were you born dumb, or do you put in work? There are no such things as mutants, fool!"

Sketchy was about to argue, when OC was distracted by the sound of firecrackers. There was nothing unusual about firecrackers in Chinatown, but she looked around her all the same. She saw a flash of red in the crowd and squinted her eyes. There, she thought she saw Lily. She kept staring and then someone moved and the redhead was indeed standing there, not too far from them. "Hey Lily! Girl! Over here!" Her smile died on her lips when the girl turned around. Something was wrong, the girl looked like a deer caught in headlights, completely in shock and then tears were running down her face. She mouthed "run" and OC did feel a strong urge the get the hell away from there. It was almost as if someone had shoved her. She barely had time to blink and then Lily wasn't there anymore. She had gotten used to Max seemingly disappear out of thin air, but it was just weird to see someone else do it.

She grabbed Sketchy's arm and then she heard a very wet fit of coughing behind them.

They both turned around and noticed the guys Sketchy had been talking to doubled over, coughing. More people around them started coughing blood and they were also bleeding from the eyes and their noses, most of them starting to collapse.

"OC, we have to get out of here."

She kept a hold of his arm. "What we need is an ambulance, gimme your phone."

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><p>Lily stood still. She felt a weird tingling in her fingers and a tickling sensation in her chest. She coughed, surprised. She was starting to feel dizzy. She looked around her for the cause of her symptoms, and noticed a lot of people were coughing blood. She heard her name and turned around, momentarily taken by surprise. Was it a trap? Was she in danger? Relieved, she saw it was Original Cindy. She felt tears run down her face and several people around her started collapsing. She had to get out of here, fast. She told Cindy to run and she did the same. As fast as she could, she blended in the crowd. She knew she wasn't sick herself, but she needed to get away from the scene, before authorities showed up.<p>

She made it through a checkpoint, taking deep breath and fighting the raising sense of panic. She wasn't going to pretend that hadn't scared her. She wasn't raised a soldier, never had been caught off guard in the middle of something like this before. She took a few minutes to regain her senses; she had to be calm if she wanted to make sure no one would pay attention to her.

She kept walking for a few minutes until she spotted a payphone. She had her cell phone but she wanted to stay out of view, so this worked perfectly. She paged Max, left her number and then tried to reach Logan. He would probably know right away what happened in Chinatown. Well, Matt would know first, but she didn't think it'd be a good idea to call him just yet. Logan was usually Eyes-Only's contact. She sighed and wondered if she should call Alec. She hadn't heard from him in days. Not that she was really surprised, but she had hoped he would keep in touch, regularly. Well, she didn't see any need to involve him in this, except for the fact that she wanted to see him.

Even though she was still shaken, she decided to keep running errand and buying supplies, and then go back to Joshua's until she heard back from Logan. She saw an electronic store and figured this was a good enough place to start. She tried to keep it simple, mostly buying parts to enhance the equipment she already had, some burner phones and pager. She didn't want to raise suspicion from the clerk, nor show that she had access to money. Bare minimum, stay under the radar.

After she was done, she headed back towards Joshua's. It was getting dark and the people lurking around all seemed to be watching her. She needed to get a grip on her emotions and Joshua's happy presence would help her. Walking faster, she cut through an alley, for once not liking the sound of her heels clicking on the ground. Way to be conspicuous. Might as well raise the alarm that she was alone, walking in a dark alley and carrying electronic equipment. She sighed. She was on edge; she really needed to calm down. She wondered if maybe she should get a bike. It would definitely save her some time wandering around the city.

Before she even heard the footsteps behind her, she felt a wave of excitement. Not hers. This was a predator's excitement; they'd find an easy prey. She probed more into the minds, she did need practice and to be more aware of her environment, and find out there was 3 guys following her and 2 more waiting at the end of the alley. She absolutely did not want to get into a confrontation with anyone, not today. But she could feel her body tense at the idea and her heart beating faster, under the adrenaline boost. Want it or not, her body was ready and expecting a fight. She was the predator here, not those punks. Relieved, she let her instincts take over for once, not fighting the part of her who would enjoy a good fight.

The footsteps behind her were getting closer, and the creeps on the other side had started moving towards her as well. She looked over her shoulders and made a point of looking startled and walking faster. They dropped the pretense and hurried after her. She purposely slipped, broke a heel and fell to the ground, letting out a sob and holding her ankle, trying to look as vulnerable as possible. "Oh, my ankle! Stupid shoes!" She looked back at her followers, happy to see they had relaxed their step and were smiling and nudging each other, obviously happy that she was going to be so easy.

"Маленький цветок, все готово к сорвал." Russian. She had not expected to run into Russian mobsters in this sector. This was not their territory. Her temper flared up, she was **not** a flower ready to be plucked. "Please don't hurt me! I think I sprained my ankle, it hurts, and I broke my shoe."

One of them crouched in front of her, smiling with a yellowed out set of teeth and flipped a knife in front of her face. The others were still laughing. They were clearly high. He said to her, in broken English. "Is OK, we help you. We don't hurt, we take money, we take sex and then we kill you. But we don't hurt you." His laugh covered his face with his putrid spittle. She was going to spring into action, showing them who was going to hurt who, when the other 2 guys joined them. And then a shot was fired, in the arm of one of the Russian. She turned around to see why they would be shooting at each other, and realized these were from a different gang. **Steelheads. **

The man holding the gun had large spikes sticking out of his forearms, several piercings, and smaller spikes sticking out of his shaved head. His companion was a short nervous-looking guy with blue hair, covered in piercings and missing an arm. They snickered. "How many times am I going to have to warn you? This is **our** turf! Now leave the nice lady alone and get the hell off of our land." "That's right, get lost" Added the shorter one.

After some cussing, the Russian men actually backed off, their eyes on the punks. Lily couldn't believe it. What were the odds, to be rescued by another gang who were just as much going to threaten her and rob her? Not that she needed to be rescued, or that she was going to get mobbed. But still, how unlucky. Or, considering the day she had, maybe it was lucky, she'd still get to kick some ass. Keeping up with the charade, she smiled at her saviors and held up her hand to the one with the blue hair.

"Oh thank you, I was so scared. Can you help me up? I think I hurt myself." He smiled back at her awkwardly and gave her his hand. She noticed the other guy tugged his gun back in his pants. She leaned against blue, so she could take off her other shoe and in one swift movement, before they could say anything, she hit him over the head with the shoe and pushed him to the floor. She'd hit him hard, he was not getting up for a while. The one with the spikes tried to grab her; she just giggled as she moved behind him, grabbed his gun and threw it in a dumpster on her left. Completely attuned to his mind, she was going to have some fun. She knew his every move and reaction before he even flexed a muscle. So she blocked every punch, escaped every grab, every thrust of the spikes, moving around him, not even noticing she was still laughing, taunting him. When he grew tired and as frustrated with her as he would get, she finished him off with a few roundhouse kicks, slamming him conveniently against the dumpster, where he slumped down.

She paused, to make sure no one else was coming at her. Bending down to grab her shoes and her bags, she turned her gaze over to the shadow leaning against the wall, at the end of the alley. "So, did you enjoy the show?"


	24. Hunting

**A/N: I really, really have to apologize. I'm sorry. This has taken me forever! I came back from vacation, safe and sound, and then work stuff happened. It was completely out of my control and has taken over my life. Some days, I'm still not sure if it was a good thing or bad, but I got a big promotion. While the money is excellent, the free time and energy level have both almost disappeared. So it has been extremely difficult to write, since I was mainly doing it while at work. That's no longer possible, so I need to arrange my schedule better and maybe even assign specific times for me to write.**

**I do hope I still have a few readers, to you all I say THANK YOU for your patience and I am sorry for the delay. I will do my best to keep this story updated as much as possible, as I do like it and plan on continuing it. This chapter might not be too much, I had to re-acquaint myself with everything, but it's a start...**

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><p>She dusted herself up, trying not to smile. She knew if she was too openly happy to see him, he'd give her attitude. Well, he would give her attitude no matter what, actually. He was just staring at her, puffing on his cigar. She had forgotten how much she liked that smell. It was usually a good sign, that someone had her back, that she was safe. She didn't realize until now, that she had craved for something, someone familiar. She was more nervous in the city than she thought.<p>

But for now, she had to play the game and banter with her friend. She rolled her eyes at the lizard-man. "Aren't you going to say something?"

He smirked "What? Do you want a damn medal because you got me cigars?"

She laughed. She liked Mole. He kept pretending to be grumpy and that he wanted nothing to do with anyone else, but here he was, in Seattle. "Well, you're welcome. You let me know if you need anything else and in exchange, I won't ask you where your hide-out is, deal?"

He nodded. "Deal. So, Joshua has told me lots about you. You're apparently inclined to help us out? I would've thought someone as smart as you would have run away, tried her chance at a somewhat normal life."

She sighed, picked up her bags and started walking out of the alley. He fell into steps beside her. "What's normal anyways? I'm not normal, so might as well stay here and do my part. There's a lot going on. With your help and Joshua's, I can probably do a lot of good for anyone trying to stay on the low side. Everyone deserves to be free and build themselves a life. But I want no trouble, you hear?"

He laughed. "Kiddo, trouble is my middle name. But I hear you. I have no interest of being a caretaker for anyone either. But if you keep those cigars coming, I can keep an eye out in the streets and send any passing kids your way. Maybe you can send them over to Eyes Only."

She knew he was fishing for information, but she wasn't going to acknowledge that.

"I do want to help, but we gotta be careful not to draw too much attention to Joshua's house, it's important that I keep him safe."

"It's ok; we can use the sewers near by and make sure his location stays safe. I'll need another way to get in touch with you, not just send people over his house."

She handed him one of the burner phones she just bought. "This should do the trick."

"A lot of us have already fled to Terminal City, to hide. I will not try to get them to come out. If you have any supplies or help for them over there, that's fine, but other than that, you leave us alone, ok?" He waited for her to nod. "But anyone else I find, I will send to you."

"So, were you coming from Joshua's or going to? Or you just heard a gunshot and decided to play the hero?"

He groaned. "I stopped by Joshua's, heard the gunshot and smelled you, so I figured I'd come and see if everything was OK."

"Well, Mole, if I didn't know any better, I'd think you care. Although the smelling thing is kind of creepy, but I'll give you a pass on that." She winked at him.

"If something happened to you, who would bring me such good quality cigars? The ones I can score for myself are nowhere near as good. It was nice seeing you girl, I'll be in touch. "

She stuck her tongue out at him and waved goodbye. Now smiling, she felt like everything was going to be alright.

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><p>The next day, Logan called her while she was exercising on top of her building. That was something she had just started, jogging and exercising. She needed to be ready for anything, yesterday was the proof of that. And the adrenaline and sweating was a fantastic way to vent and work on her anxiety; it calmed her.<p>

He asked her to meet him at Jam Pony; he wanted to talk to her and Max, and apparently Max wasn't returning his pages. Lily was pretty sure it'd have to do with what's been happening in Chinatown and she was eager to help. All those people, it had been such a horrific sight.

She shook the image out of her mind and sat on her bed, putting on her boots, with more sensible heels, she had learned her lesson yesterday. Pride was not convenient, although it had provided a nice distraction.

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><p>Once at Jam Pony, she spotted Max and original Cindy at the back of the building, sitting by the lockers, talking. Lily could already feel OC's emotions, she was upset. Well, at least she was OK, and yesterday had been upsetting. She walked towards them, barely registering the man behind the counter who seemed to be yelling at everyone and no one in particular.<p>

Max looked up when Lily was a few feet away, lifted her brows in surprise but still nodded in greeting. Hey, she said she was going to try, and she was.

Lily smiled back at the two of them and put a reassuring hand on Cindy's shoulder, sending a calming vibe her way. It seemed to work as OC's took a deep breath and smiled.

"Girl! I'm glad you're OK, that was something spooky yesterday."

"What are you doing here?" Interrupted Max. "Not that you don't have any rights to visit." She added after a pause.

Lily just shrugged, appreciating the conflict in Max's eyes and thoughts. "Logan's on his way, he asked me to meet you guys here. I guess you've ignored his pages or something?"

"Don't even get me started on that, I need a new one, I was ran over yesterday."

Again trying not to read into Max's thoughts too much, she still got an image of an encounter with a man, a crash and then some private conversing and confusion. It took all she had not to frown. What was wrong with Max and Logan? Why would they put themselves into those situations with other people, when they obviously, desperately, wanted to be with each other? She rolled her eyes, and handed Max a phone. She'd brought one just in case, with her number, Logan's and Alec's already in there. Then the man came from behind the counter and yelled "Bip, Bip, Bip" to which Max and Cindy replied they were on a break. Lily shook her head in surprise.

Logan chose this time to walk in, making the man, Normal, Max called him; throw in a few more insults, only to be ignored by everyone else. This was an odd place for sure. Lily wasn't quite sure she got it, but Max seemed perfectly at ease.

Original Cindy understood they needed to talk privately so she went back to get a package from Normal, while the three of them walked around the corner, out of earshot.

"I just spoke to Matt, we need to look into this Chinatown business, there's something there. Max, you aware of the situation?"

"Kind of. OC was there yesterday, she's been upset about it, and I understand Lily was there too, although I'm not sure how it affects us."

Lily narrowed her eyes at Logan, anticipating what he was going to say. He knew it wasn't going to be well received so he was still hesitating on how to say it.

"There have been 23 victims so far, at first one, and then yesterday 22, all Chinese. The M.E said it was some kind of pathogen, toxin, but they couldn't tell what exactly. They've never seen anything like it. There's panic, rumors and people are asking questions."

He was aware that as soon as he said "Toxin" Max also narrowed his eyes at him. He now had both girls staring hard at him. He sighed.

"Matt asked me to bring this up to Eyes Only. There are Manticore rumors, they think someone is hiding there and it could be the cause of all this…"

"What exactly are you saying Logan? That a transgenic is responsible?" Lily glanced at Max, knowing it wouldn't be long until she exploded.

"Not as in he's killing them, but when you were at Manticore, were you aware of any experiments that involved virulent bacteria or…"

Lily closed her eyes. Oh Logan! This was not going to end well.

In a quiet but deadly voice, Max answered. "No. And why would you be jumping to conclusions? If this has something to do with me and my furry little friends, then how come the victims are all Chinese? Manticore's always been real big on equal opportunity. Maybe it was something they ate, or some bug that got released from a lab. Why do you have to go and blame this on me and mine?"

Logan threw his hands up in the air, still not getting the point. "Come on Max! This is nothing new to Manticore, working on stuff like that. Look what they did to you and me!"

Lily reached for Max's shoulder but she was shrugged off. "Because I'm poison doesn't mean we all are. You can ask for my help when you have facts. I gotta get back to work."

She stormed off, before Logan could say anything else. He turned to Lily, his eyes pleading.

"You dug that hole on your own Logan; I'm not going to help you out. That was insensitive and a bit insulting. But I'll grant you one, I, too, have heard rumors. They know me in Chinatown and I've been in touch with Sung, so I can look into it, discreetly. But Logan, for your sake, never assume again that we are to blame for a tragedy. We might not be completely human, but we have feelings, and you made a mess of Max's just now."

She didn't even care to wait for him to answer; she turned around and left him standing there.

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><p>It didn't turn out to be as easy as she thought. She was becoming a familiar face in Chinatown, and that was not necessarily a good thing. People would talk to her more easily, but they would also be able to point her out in a crowd. After this matter was resolved, she would have to stay away for a while, let the dust settle.<p>

Rumors there were, everybody was talking about a deformed man, bleeding from his hands and face. But there was barely anything else. And it wasn't like she could just ask, she had to play it casual and listen with all her senses. It was just luck that she felt the tension from the little motel. She focused and heard a very frantic Chinese man tell the Police about the "creature". She didn't hesitate and hurried inside, silently walking past the clerk and behind Matt and another cop. She willed everything she had for them not to see her. She almost flew up the stairs, having picked up the transgenic's location from the man's brain.

She walked in, no time to knock and faced the man standing there, unpacking a suitcase. The drawings she had seen in the police station and the images in people's minds helped her with the shock. He was highly deformed, hunched over and his bandaged hands were soaked with blood. She lifted her hands, showing him he had didn't have to fear her and then she showed him her barcode. He smiled back at her, a sad, tentative smile that really tugged at her heart.

Lily knew she had to talk to him, warn him that the Police were on their way up; she could hear them. But before she could open her mouth, there was a crash outside by the window, a flash of color and a little voice screaming "Help, Help!"

Without a word, the transgenics went to the window and saw a little boy hanging there. He must have climbed on a ladder to look through the window. They pulled him in and Lily took a step closer to the door, knowing everyone else had heard the screams and were coming. They needed to think fast. She glanced back and saw the deformed man and the kid smiling at each other, mutually fascinated. She fought a smile herself. But there was no time for any of this!

The door was kicked opened and at the same time the warning escaped her lips "Matt, wait!" a shot rang out. The other cop had been a step in front of Matt Sung and shot at the transgenic, aiming to kill. Lily's heart stopped for a second. The clerk from downstairs, the little boy's dad ran to the kid and hugged him. She couldn't stay here. She wasn't sure Matt had noticed her yet, but the kid did so she had to run. She threw a very disappointed look at the cops and made her way down the stairs.

She just couldn't believe she didn't have time to do anything, to save him. She wasn't faster than a bullet nor was she resistant to them. Coldly, technically, there wasn't anything she _could_ have done. But she still felt guilty and sad. And the mystery wasn't resolved; she could tell that something else had killed all those people. There was still work to do.

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><p><strong><em>Thank you if you are still reading :)<em>**


	25. Friends

**A/N: **Hello everyone! Thank you **so** much again if you are still reading, I really really appreciate it. And thank you for the very nice reviews I got as well, it always makes my day. I promised myself I would be better at updating, but I still haven't been able to. Work is still kicking my ass and I can barely keep my head out of the water. But I am trying though. I already got started on the next chapter, which will be more exciting.

*Spoiler Alert*

Alec will be back. Lol. I've missed him. But as I was writing this chapter, my roommate was watching "Supernatural" and I got too confused with my head overdosing on Jensen Ackles at once, that I just couldn't write him in this one.

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><p>Things had been taken care of pretty fast. Logan had met Matt at the autopsy room, where Dr. Shankar worked. Dr. Beverly Shankar was one of Logan'sEyes Only associates, she would keep this quiet, as much as possible. Lily was there too, leaning against a wall down the hallway. She was pretty sure they didn't even know she was there and that was just fine with her. She was conflicted by what had happened and the stance Logan and Matt seemed to be taking. It's a good thing she knew someone with plenty of attitude who could back her up on this. Someone who just happened to storm in.

Logan turned around when Max barged in, surprised. "Max? What are you doing here? I told you I'd call you."

"I asked her to come. I figured we needed to be here, to get the whole story and not jump to conclusions." Lily took a step closer to the group and the men turned their gazes from Max to her. Ok, they hadn't known she was there. She felt sorry that she wasn't able to stop the bitterness in her voice. Oh well, it was the truth.

Max looked behind her and nodded at the redhead, who nodded back. "Lily." "Max."

Before Matt or Logan could comment, Dr Shankar came out of the room. "He's clean." She said as she exchanged a meaningful look with Logan. Matt looked disappointed and Max and Lily also looked at each other knowingly. "Not a trace of the pathogen found in the other victims."

Matt took her clipboard, shaking his head. "It makes no sense, let me go take a look." He entered the autopsy room and everyone followed him. The poor transgenic's body was exposed, so all his deformities were visible. Logan's eyebrows went up in shock and Max clenched her jaw and fists. The body didn't have much hair so it didn't take long for Matt to notice the barcode.

"That mark, it's not in your report, could it mean something?"

"It looks like a tattoo to me, not really relevant."

Matt looked up to add something but caught Max staring questioningly at Lily, who shook her head. "Why do I get the feeling you guys aren't telling me something? Lily, it seems like you are more involved in this than you say. I could swear you were at the crime scene, but I can't prove it. So, what's going on?"

"You killed an innocent man, that's what's going on." Max hissed. "I'm out of here, you coming Lily?"

"Give me one minute Max."

"I'll wait for you outside." Without a look to anyone else, she walked down the hall. Lily sighed, but she couldn't blame Max for being angry. Everyone had assumed one of them was responsible for this mess.

"We didn't have a choice to shoot; it looked like he was hurting the kid. And something did kill all those people…"

"It's ok Matt, we know. We will get to the bottom of this. Bev, did you get the lab results back?"

Frowning, Lily gathered all the results from the Doctor's mind and cut her off before she could answer Logan.

"Logan, I'm gonna go with Max, call me if you have more details."

"Don't you want to wait for the results?"

She smiled and winked at him, already knowing everything she needed to. She waved good-bye and left to meet Max outside.

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><p>"woooooooooooooooooooooooooho oooooooooooooooooo" yelled Lily in delight, her hands letting go of Max's waist. This was exhilarating. She couldn't believe she had never been on a motorcycle before. She had no idea it would be so fun. Now she had to have one. Although, it would attract a lot of attention, so maybe not the best idea after all.<p>

Feeling that Max's patience was wearing thin, she giggled one last time and then remained quiet. She could tell her friend (friend?) was trying to say something. She waited a smile still on her lips.

"Lily, thanks for your help on this, on everything. It's nice to not be so alone. Logan doesn't always understand."

"Don't worry about it Max. They're my family too, and I want to help just as much as you do."

"But I'm the one who let them out, they're my responsibility. You could just decide to move on and not feel guilty."

"Well, once again, that just goes to show how little you know me. The whole reason I am here is to help, help all of us. Also, you have to remember I was trying to get everyone out too. And to me it wasn't just an afterthought; it had been my plan all along, for all of us to be free. You have no idea how much it sucks being left behind."

She stopped herself from saying more, not wanting to ruin the nice moment they were having. She felt Max tense a little, but she could tell she was really listening to her this time.

They pulled up at Joshua's house. Max wanted to show him the drawing of the transgenic and see what he knew about him. And then they could discuss the M.E.'s report without Logan and Matt's suspicions. When they walked in, Joshua was sitting in his chair, reading a book Lily brought him a few days ago. Max handed him a few items she had in her pocket, some beef jerky and an old chocolate bar and they hugged. Lily waited patiently for her turn, enjoying the happiness that filled her when she was near-by Joshua. It was truly something to treasure and she would never get tired of it. They grinned foolishly at each other and then she jumped in his arms while the big man roared in laughter.

Max raised an eyebrow. "What's that all about? I knew you guys got along but this is something else."

Still laughing, Joshua let Lily go but kept an arm around her shoulders. 'Lily and Joshua friends. Dog in their cocktail. It makes them happy." He let out a happy bark and Lily started laughing again. She looked back at Max and shrugged.

"Alright. Let me tell you about the report; we were right, it wasn't him. But, it was a genetically engineered pathogen that killed those people in Chinatown. We just don't know if it's something that leaked or escaped from a lab or if someone is exposing people on purpose. I don't know about you, but I intend to find out. Whatever it is, this thing needs to end, now. And I would be inclined to thing someone is orchestrating this intentionally."

"You picked all this up from Dr Shankar's head?"

Lily shrugged again. "It's what I do."

Max gave the police sketch to Joshua. "He was downstairs people. Didn't turn out so good."

"But he was good, Joshua. I saw him save a human boy from falling down a window sill. He was different, but good."

"People get scared, when things are different, little fella said."

"Yeah, but what I forgot to tell you is when they get scared, they can get really mean. I'm sorry." She looked at Lily. "So what do we do now?"

She sighed. "I think we're going to need more help on this. I think someone with contacts in the black market would be quite useful."

Max groaned. "I know I'm going to regret this, but you might be right. I'll call him. I know you guys are friends but you will ask him in a way he can just say no. He won't find it so easy with me."

Lily smiled in relief. She wasn't sure she was ready to talk to Alec yet. She had spent a lot of time putting him off her mind. But they needed the backup.

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><p>Later on that night, Lily entered Crash for the first time. Original Cindy had called and insisted they go out for a drink, since Max was sulking about Logan again. O.C's words, not hers, but she had to agree.<p>

She looked around, surprised at the look of the place. Plasma TVs scattered on the walls, bike parts and lots of pictures. A few tables around the bar and a corner for pool tables completed the look. It was quite busy and looked chaotic, but she thought it was the intent.

Seeing O.C sitting close to the pool corner, she made her way over there. She was warmly greeted and a cold mug of beer was pushed in her hands. She smelled it, dipped her lips in it and wrinkled her nose. Cindy laughed. "What's wrong girl? You look like you've never tasted beer before." She paused when Lily didn't say anything. "You serious? Wow. OK, we're so getting another pitcher. You just wait a minute."

Lily took another small sip, not finding the beverage so bitter this time. She turned around and spotted Max sitting at the bar. She was doing her best to close her mind to everyone around her; that was why she didn't immediately felt the other X5. She was laughing at something the guy next to him said. He looked familiar, Lily had seen him before, but where?

O.C walked back to the table, a full pitcher in her hands and smirked in the direction Lily was looking. "Yeah, you see that too? Bunch of fools." She shook her head. "She came here with me, and then loverboy there walked in and batted his puppy eyes at her and convinced her to have a drink with him. She was begging me to keep her away from him last year and now look at this. Mistakes are going to be happening all over again."

Lily nodded. Ok, now she remembered the incident. "What was his name again?"

"Rafer. So, girl, you really never had beer before? I guess you were one of the ones who actually grew up in that place huh?"

Another sip, bigger this time. "Yes, I was. You know, this is weird. Technically, I know what beer should taste like, I know the chemical effects of it in the blood and I even know what it feels like to be drunk, but I've never experienced any of it for myself. It's an acquired taste I think. Not totally unpleasant."

"Max said your talents were different from hers. But what I really want to ask you is, what was she like when she was a kid? Was she always this tough?"

"Were her walls always up you mean? Yes, yes they were. That's how we were all raised. We were supposed to be soldiers, weapons. But she also always had a glimpse of a softer side too. She cared deeply for her brothers and sisters, as you know and she was also able to believe in dreams and appreciate beauty. They were always so special."

She shook her head, lost in thought and realized her glass was empty. O.C laughed and filled it up again. "You seem to be quite the dreamer yourself. Well, I do hope you stick around, not only because I like you, but because Max's family always leave her and it hurts her every time."

Lily held her glass up and smiled. "Well, I have no plans to go anywhere anytime soon and I could use some family myself. If they'll have me." She got up from her seat and grabbed O.C by the hand. "Come on, I've been watching, and I'm pretty sure I can kick ass at this pool game. It's just mathematics after all."

A few hours later, after many more glasses of beer and a lot of pool played, something tugged at Lily and she scanned the crowded bar. On the opposite end of the place, she noticed Logan sitting and talking to Asha. She sighed. She wasn't angry this time, because what caught her attention was that Logan had thought about Max. And of course, she knew that Max had been thinking about Logan pretty often too, even though she seemed focused on her conversation with Rafer. As if he knew she was looking at him, Logan turned his head and met her stare. He smiled at her, surprised to see her there. As Lily was still smiling, she also saw Max turn around and notice Logan. She snickered and nudged O.C. They saw the lovebirds stare at each other and smile, fight forgotten and forgiven. Amazing.

"Look at them, it could be almost sickening if it wasn't so adorable. It's like nothing else exists and time doesn't matter. It doesn't even seem to bug them that they are both spending the evening with someone else. It's crazy."

It wasn't so crazy. In a way, she envied them. No matter what was in their way, even if they couldn't be together, they were so sure of their feelings. They loved each other and nothing would change that. She shook her head in dismay. She didn't envy them, not really. But it was a nice thing to hold on to. Not everything had to be about war, violence and drama.

At the end of the night, she walked O.C back to her building; made sure she was safe and then went back to her own place. She was feeling extremely relaxed. She knew alcohol couldn't really affect her senses; she wouldn't be drunk per say, but she felt good. It had turned out to be a pretty good day after all. Tomorrow might prove to be different, as they had so much more work to do. But at least for now, Lily felt like she belonged and that was a feeling she would not trade for anything.

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><p><em><strong>Thank you for reading :)<strong>_


	26. Marshmallows

**A/N: **_I so don't deserve awesome readers as you guys. I have been beyond horrible with updating this story. But have no fear, it's not dead, I will keep going. My life is just out of control but as soon as I get a handle on things again, I will make a steady mark in my schedule specifically for writing. Its been so long overdue._

_Thank you so much for keeping on reading and for the amazing feedback you`ve been giving me, it means a lot!_

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><p><strong> CHAPTER 26<strong>

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><p>When Lily came back from her morning run, she found Alec waiting for her on the couch. Feet on the coffee table, smirk on his face, mouthful of cereal. Rolling her eyes at him she went to grab a bottle of water in the fridge. "Make yourself at home, why don't you?"<p>

He chuckled but she could feel the slightest hesitation from him. She decided to go with her gut and ignore it. She did feel awkward for about a second too, but his welcome smirk had told her which way to go. Nothing was changed, they were not going to be embarrassed about sharing each other's memories.

She knocked his feet off the table and sat on the couch next to him. She drank some water, waiting for him to talk; he would set the tone for this meeting. Putting the spoon in the now empty bowl he turned to her. "So, missed me, have you?"

"Pfffft, you wish. It so happened that we need your fine ear and connections on the black market, still trying to make sense of all those deaths in Chinatown."

He nodded. "I know, Max gave me all the details yesterday. But you still have to say it."

"Say what?" She frowned and then laughed. "Oh you mean you need flattery? You need to hear that I've missed you horribly and that I wouldn't be able to pull this off without you? Well, yeah, I did miss you and we need your help. No flattery, just the truth."

He just cockily grinned at her, looking all too pleased with himself. "No way! You already came up with the info? For real?"

"Well, it was relatively easy, all I had to do was follow up on a rumor about a new kind of bio-weapon, capable of distinguishing between population groups."

She raised her eyebrows in surprise. "That's a nasty little trick no one's been able to pull off before. Are we sure Manticore is not involved? The bad guys, not us."

"You might want to make sure Max never hears you say that…"

"Oh, you know what I mean. It would make sense, this was carried out exactly like an experiment. Started with a single victim and then a handful in a targeted area. If nothing, you have to admire the science behind it all."

"Again, don't let it turn you on too much Red, someone could question your allegiance. But seriously, Manticore would have never made this public; we would have been the guinea pigs, all under secrecy. This experiment, if that's what it was, was sloppy. You better jump in the shower and change, because I already called Logan up with the details, and he should come up with something soon enough."

"Are you coming with us?"

"I'm curious enough to see who has been pulling the strings, but any sign of anyone trying to put me back in a cage and I'm gone, you got it?"

"Of course. Thank you Alec, I knew we could count on you."

"For now at least."

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><p>Lily and Alec rendez-vous'd with Max at Joshua's place, where they could call Logan to get the 411 with everyone present. Of course, Lily brought a bag full of groceries to her friend, along with a few books and a backpack with other supplies, which he stashed away in the closet of the bedroom. Alec noticed the exchange but didn't say anything.<p>

Logan couldn't talk long, he was trying to hack into the computer of the suspect's lab. " There's a type of bioagent dispersion cartridge. It's fired from a handfield launcher, triggered by an altimeter. It would be easy to mistake it with fireworks. This guy here, he bought three last week, twenty grand a piece." He stopped short, while he was waiting for the screen to load.

_TARGET ZONE - APPROX. 2 miles_

_Detonation To Ground Contact: 1 minute_

_Hot Time: 4 minutes_

_Test Subject - BARCODE X5-692)_

"Max, I don't know who this guy is or who he's working for, but it's going down in Sector 4 and the test subject is an X-5."

They all looked at each other and started moving. "Thanks Logan, we'll meet you at the checkpoint."

Max took off on her bike and Lily turned to Josh just as he was throwing a set of keys at her. In the abandoned lot next to the house, there was a car under a tarp. From a first glance, it looked decrepit, not worth stealing. Lily pulled the tarp off, and Alec, automatically trusting she had a plan went over the driver's side when she threw the keys back at him. After he started the car and appreciated the sounds coming from under the hood, he turned to her. "I'm not setting foot in Sector 4, this sounds dangerous. I'll stand guard or observe or whatever."

She shrugged and nodded at him when he accelerated. "You do what you have to do Alec, far from me to pressure you into anything. You've already helped enough."

"Is there any way I can talk you into taking a step back? Let Max jump head first, she's used to it."

"And let a sister go into unknown, potentially deadly, territory without backup? Even I was taught better than that."

Not saying a word, Alec shook his head, but he still pushed down the gas pedal and whirled the car forward.

They pulled over close to the sector checkpoint, which was unusually busy. They could see a police car, Matt Sung's car, Max's Ninja and Logan standing by as well.

Lily hurried out of the car, wanting to know what the plan was, knowing Alec wouldn't be too far behind. She overheard Logan telling Max that the target for the pathogen was an X5 this time and could feel Max's resolve to get in there no matter what. But just before she reached them, she stopped as a wave of blind rage hit her. What the hell? She narrowed her eyes at a car that was leaving the scene. It had come from there. That rage had come from whoever was behind this whole operation. But she couldn't dwell on it; they all looked up at the dreaded firework sound in the distance, while Matt's walkie-talkie was giving out the location of the suspect. Max was already pushing past Logan, shrugging off his concerns, heading for the checkpoint.

While Logan was arguing with the sector cops to let him go after Max, Lily felt Alec's hands rest very lightly on her shoulders. No word no thought needed to be exchanged to understand this one; he was telling her not to follow. She hesitated on that though, part of her wanted to run in and help, but her own self-preservation was telling her to wait.

When Matt Sung cleared him through, Logan looked back at them, saw the hesitation on Lily's face and looked up to Alec. The transgenic shook his head in answer "We'll be there in 5 minutes. We enjoy being alive."

Suddenly, the warmth of Alec's hands on her shoulders no longer felt friendly and she shrugged him off. She paced nervously, trying to pick up on something, anything that could be useful.

She glanced at Alec and thinking he wasn't paying attention she started towards the check point. Immediately, he was in front of her, blocking her path. "And where do you think you're going?"

"Alec, I understand you staying out of harm's way, and I do appreciate your concern for me, but I can't just stay here, I have to go. It is almost safe now, I'll be fine."

But of course, today was a day where everything kept happening at the same time, so her cell phone started vibrating in her pocket. She picked it up. "Yeah?"

"You used to be polite Miss Cooper, just like you used to know protocol."

She rolled her eyes, as she usually did when Lydecker would use his "teacher" voice. "Non-secure line?"

"You never know. Did you happen to see White at the scene?"

"I'm not even going to ask you how you know where I am, but of course not. I'd have my hands around his neck if I'd seen him. Oh, Balls!" She remembered the wave of rage and hatred she felt when the parked car left. "Damn it all to hell. Yes, now it makes scene, he was behind this all along, and I think he was observing and left when the Police got here."

"Are you being watched right now? If he recognized any of you they'll be closing in on you."

She quickly signaled to Alec to do a quick round, making sure this wasn't a bigger trap than expected. She nodded in answer to his raised eyebrow, yes, she would stay put until he came back. "We're working on it Sir, but I think he just left, he doesn't want the exposure either. My thoughts are that this was just part of the whatever experiment he was conducting. With us as a target."

"Good thing you thwarted his plan then. I'll be in touch if I hear anything else."

She put the phone back in her pocket and looked at her watch. Well, it had been a distraction enough, the zone was now safe for her to go through. She still waited for Alec though.

"All clear?" He nodded. "Alright, time to go and make sure they're all safe, it's been well over 5 minutes now."

"Wait a minute, are you sure it's safe? It could still be dangerous for us over there?"

"Well, I can tell Max is alive, so whatever it is, it's not lethal. I'm going. You can just drive the car back to Joshua's if you want, it's ok. You don't have to go in there, we'll be fine." She meant it, she really believed that the danger was over.

Alec shrugged. "Fine, I'll be in touch in a few days. Oh, piece of advice, you should buy better cereal, I like the sugary ones, with mini marshmallows and stuff." He turned around and walked back to the car, leaving Lily shaking her head, laughing.

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><p>At the end of the day, when the city was falling asleep, Max went to Logan's and found him holding a glass of wine, staring out the window. She grabbed a wine glass as well and went to stand by him, making sure to stay out of reach, wouldn't want any accidents.<p>

Logan chuckled. "Long day huh?" She nodded back. "I'll have the papers ready for your new friend in the morning, and some leads to get him across the border too. He's safe for tonight?"

"Yeah. He's going to spend the night at Joshua's until we can find him a safe way to disappear. I think Lily was going to stay over too, she was gathering some money and other survival stuff for the kid. There's one thing I can say about that girl, she cares a great deal."

"She does. Reminds me another badass transgenic I know."

She smiled softly at him, unwilling to really accept the compliment. "Did Sung give you a hard time about keeping all the equipment you guys found at the dirtbag's place? Any proof of who his employer was?"

"Nah, Sung's a good guy, figured Eyes Only would love to get his hands on that kind of equipment, so he let me have it. He has a lot of questions though, not sure what I'm going to tell him. I'll bring Lily along next time I go see him, she's great at smoothing things over. You know that she's absolutely certain that White was behind all this? That it was all an experiment, that the goal was to find a weapon against transgenic?"

She shrugged, took a sip a wine. "Wouldn't surprise me. Isn't there always someone after me and mine? And White seems stubborn and resourceful enough to pull this out. I'm just not sure if how much we can bank on the fact Lily "felt" him. A lot of people walking around pissed off, doesn't mean it's him."

"What about Lydecker?"

"What about him? If she trusts him, good for her, but I'm not sure. I keep thinking he has his own agenda too, and he's just playing nice until it doesn't serve him anymore. But I wouldn't mind a little face to face with White."

"I can imagine. Well, I'll keep digging in the guy, Cyril's, computers and research, see if I can come up with something. I'll ask Lily to help too, but seems to me they covered their tracks."

"It's ok. I'm sure they'll try again, this isn't over yet…."

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><p><em>AN: The editing is a bit off as I am in a hurry, but I will make it better when I have a minute! Thanks for reading! :)_


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